Discovering talents
At the beginning of the 20th century, the American historian Henry Adams wrote that “chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.” Every day we witness how the chaos surrounding us is generating unconventional entrepreneurial initiatives that are marked by interdisciplinarity and are aimed at confederating and promoting Italy’s precious productive and creative resources, which the crisis is eroding and dissipating. A new scenario where a wealth of ancient and modern knowhow mingles in a fluid relationship, a configuration that is best suited to brave an unpredictable global economic outlook. In this eclectic framework, two young and enterprising Milanese interior designers launched their innovative project in 2010. Under the trademark of Segno Italiano, Alberto Nespoli and Domenica Rocca (recently joined by a third partner, Leo Prusicki) are opening new markets to high-quality Italian artisanal products that are made in the preeminent historical manufacturing districts of Italy. At the same time, Segno Italiano is engaged in interior design projects, thus introducing these products also in a concrete context: private homes in Italy and abroad, retail stores (Segno Italiano designed and implemented a network of shops in the Czech Republic) and the food service industry (like the Refettorio Simplicitas in Salzurg). “Domenico Rocca and I graduated in Interior Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan and we share the common passion for Italian fashion and tailoring,” explains Alberto Nespoli. “When we first met, in
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They don’t design new objects. Instead, they update, in a contemporary key, the objects that belong to Italy’s heritage
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2009, we started thinking about the fact that these tailoring skills were not reflected in Italian design, and that something had to be done to promote them. This intuition sparked the birth of Segno Italiano, an agency that selects, re-edits, endorses and markets Italy’s high-end craftsmanship in the field of furniture and home decor.” From the start, Segno Italiano’s manifesto was inspired by fashion and by the slow food movement, which in those years was finding a successful physical dimension in the Eataly retail chain. “We were inspired by this model, which selects and presents delicacies in one single showcase, and we thought we could apply it also to artisanal products,” continues Nespoli. From fashion they borrowed the concept of seasonal collections and rapid production cycles. “We don’t normally design new objects. Instead, we update, in a contemporary key, the objects that belong to our heritage, remaining true to the Italian archetypes that have deep historical roots in our manufacturing districts. At the same time, we develop interior design concepts, exhibitions and scenography, not only to sustain this economic effort but also to merge as many synergies as possible.” The collections all share the common theme of “Italian home life”: Convivial dining, Living in the open air, Wellness. The materials are all traditionally Italian, tied to artisan and manual roots. “Our first project was the Chiavari chair, a very iconic product that was developed at the beginning of the 19th century and that is nothing other than the mother of Gio Ponti’s
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