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Te m p l e s o f s a v o i r - f a i re
We use reclaimed wood like the old kauri wood, buried in peat for thousands of years
precision that can only be achieved with technologically advanced equipment. The quality of our production can be seen, for example, in our drawers: they are entirely crafted from solid wood and assembled with dovetail joints. Or our shelves, which always have supporting elements and 90% of our hinges are designed and produced specifically for us. Q. It is fascinating to enter your showroom and perceive the quality of your work, something which is conveyed also by the scent of the natural wood. A. Our walk-in closets are made of solid or multiplex cedar wood. The wax or natural oil finish is applied exclusively by hand. Tidiness is essential to me, and it is a rule in all our factories: brooms are red and they must be hung up, and dustpans stowed away. Cleaning up is the final duty at the end of every working day. When the bell rings, at 6:20 pm, everyone, in each of the three factories, starts tidying up and the day’s work is left on the bench where it is covered with a red cloth. Why the red cloth? Because it covers and protects the product as if it were ... well, almost a child, because what we are making is for our clients. For me, this care has an inestimable value, and we invest a lot in it. Q. Is it the aesthetic manifestation of a rigorous method and work ethic? A. Yes, it’s a symbol. Our other symbol is a red sledgehammer that hangs at the entrance to the production departments. We use it to destroy low quality products. We explain the meaning of this hammer to our employees, for whom it represents the value of quality work. This is my rule and I won’t stoop to compromises. In Italy, the wood industry doesn’t know anything about wood anymore and the furniture industry uses everything but wood. I watch things carefully, how they are made, and I dedicate particular attention to wood: how can you make a large table in solid wood and then cover it with varnish?
Up until 10 or 15 years ago, wood had to be perfect, without knots. But does it make sense to make a solid wood table without a single knot? The knot is what gives it life! Q. Ethics and the value of work also emerge in other initiatives promoted by and featuring Riva 1920. I am thinking of the cultural events in your museum (attracting as many as 600 visitors at a time), the competitions for young designers that you periodically organise and the activities you promote in conjunction with other furniture manufacturers... A. My work is now 50% communication; my soul is half company, half social. Keeping relationships with artisans and designers within the framework of the Brianza Design project, promoting activities in schools and universities.... these are the areas in which I am involved and which I try to link together. I have often met with resistance because my approach is to seek a route independently, which many others can then follow, and this upsets the Establishment. I am anxious to help others and I dedicate a lot of attention to young people: many contact me to share ideas and ask advice and I always try to call them back or respond personally. I hold lectures at fifteen different universities, and I am very angry with the professors because they don’t talk to each other, and this attitude does not help the students. It is clear that they have neither knowledge of the materials nor of the technology. I try to make up for these shortcomings by inviting many students into my factories and urging them to visit other factories and the tradeshows specialising in materials. It is vital that professors step out of their classrooms and take their students to visit companies so that they will understand how they work. We have to make an effort to mentor the young: those who have the opportunity and who have an idea must endeavour to give something to the new generations. This, I believe, is the duty of an entrepreneur.
Opposite page, “Kairo” chair by Karim Rashid. The particular double-arc form carved into the wood was inspired by a trip Rashid took to Egypt. The chair starts as a solid cedar wood block that is put into a machine that carves it to obtain the final shape. The operation may take more than eight hours. The final smoothing, rigorously done by hand, requires another four hours of work.
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