A round-up of the Salvatori 2021 collections
03.2022
2021 was a challenging but stimulating year in terms of working to bring our new collections to the public, but we are delighted with the results and hope you are too
All the latest additions to the Salvatori product family
2021 has proven to be another somewhat particular year in which we continued to adapt to new ways of living and working, particularly when it came to our collaborations with international designers. Whereas in the past, we would brainstorm in person, and host them in our Tuscan headquarters where they could examine stones at first hand, this year we had to rely on digital, rather than face-to-face communication.
It wasn’t always easy, but as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and with all parties passionate about creating great design together, we ended up with a wonderful selection of products that go beyond aesthetics and function to encapsulate wider, more profound themes.
We take a look at the fruit of our labours and put the spotlight on our 2021 collections.
Debut collaborations with Patricia Urquiola and Stephen Burks
One of the particularly rewarding aspects of the year proved to be building new friendships with two outstanding names from the international design scene, in Patricia Urquiola and Stephen Burks.
We had enormous fun working with Stephen to create Friends and Neighbors, a collection of table and wall mirrors that celebrates the incredible colour palette of our stones and nods to the artist’s Africa origins. Bringing a contemporary aesthetic to ancient tribal traditions, this vibrant, unconventional collection’s underlying message is about the importance of finally being able to connect with our nearest and dearest.
With Patricia, we had the wonderful experience of bringing her Taula dining and coffee tables to life. Inspired by the majestic megaliths of the same name that are found on the islands of Majorca and Menorca, these very special pieces are the result of a combination of craftsmanship and technology that together work to make the stone appear almost weightless.
Patricia was also involved in The Village with her pair of Kore sculptures, which are a homage to the delicate yet imposing statues from Ancient Greece that typically represented young women on the cusp of womanhood. The contrasting but complementary miniature pieces of high-end architecture, named Alma and Petra, express two contrasting worlds, united by the warmth and intimacy that we all seek in a home.
The Village: the world in miniature
On the subject of The Village, this was the first of our projects to be shared with the public this year, although we had in fact been working on it throughout 2020. Indeed, it was the events of that momentous year that inspired our CEO Gabriele Salvatori to explore themes such as the importance of home as a haven and the global sense of solidarity that comes to the surface in a crisis.
Rodolfo Dordoni, Kengo Kuma, Elisa Ossino, John Pawson, Patricia Urquiola, Vincent Van Duysen and Yabu Pushelberg accepted the invitation to express their concept of home through the medium of stone. The result reflects their diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, with the creation of a multi-coloured, eclectic miniature village where every sculpture bears the distinctive imprint of its artist, yet each piece sits alongside the others in perfect harmony.
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Spaghetti: our homage to Italian craftsmanship (and cuisine)
We have always been proud to have Made in Italy quality and values as our benchmarks and Spaghetti represents yet another example of our commitment to upholding them.
An innovative and unashamed homage to the best of Italian traditions, the Spaghetti collection, designed by Elisa Ossino, comprises a texture, drawer facings and tapware and is the result of an intense process of research and experimentation to finetune the technique that creates the distinctive pattern that mimics the world’s most famous pasta.
The section of the incisions required to replicate the smooth strands is so fine that we had to employ precision engineering of a level that is more usually associated with high-end watchmakers and jewellers.
The tapware is similarly complex and meticulous, with the handles made of dainty metal bezels in the same texture, produced to scale, and finished with circular inserts of stone which can be matched to the wall tiles or ordered in a different stone if you are looking for a stylish contrast.
Gravity Zodiac: tapping into our unique energy
The Gravity Zodiac collection of paperweights, one of the latest concepts to come out of the Salvatori Design Centre, harnesses the extraordinary capacity of stone to interpret and transmit the unique energy of whoever comes in contact with it.
The aim of the collection is to align that energy with the ruling planet associated with each stone. The result is a series of twelve perfect spheres, each representing a sign of the zodiac, brought to life through a stone that captures the characteristics and energy of those born under it.
To accentuate the link with the planets, each sphere is designed to gently oscillate upon a bronze base in a recreation of the motion of heavenly bodies.
Edo: our fascination with the Orient continues
It is no secret that we have a deep appreciation for the Orient and its fascinating, centuries-old culture and Edo is the latest expression of this passion, which we share with our friend and the collection’s designer, Piero Lissoni.
The name is inspired by the origins of modern-day Japan and the tiny fishing village called Edo that evolved over the centuries to become the vibrant city we know today as Tokyo. Comprising freestanding and wall-mounted towel racks and a toilet roll holder that evoke the curved blad of a katana, the traditional Samurai sword, Edo is a delightfully original collection that exudes understated glamour.
The evolution of our Lost Stones
The Lost Stones texture is the evolution of a project that began in 2019 with Piero Lissoni and the goal of finding a way to reuse abandoned and broken slabs of beautiful natural stone.
Adapting the ancient Japanese technique of Kintsugi, used throughout the centuries to repair damaged porcelain and pottery, we gave life to unwanted or forgotten stones by mending their fractures with seams of golden resin.
Exclusively available on a made-to-measure basis, each slab is selected, cut and finished to be a perfect fit for the environment it will grace.
Eco-friendly, unconventional and extraordinarily elegant, the Lost Stones texture is, in effect, the interior design equivalent of a bespoke suit.
While 2021 was undoubtedly a challenging year, it was also extremely stimulating and fruitful. Being able to take part in Milan Design Week in September was incredibly satisfying, not only for the opportunity it gave us to share our new products in such a context, but also for the sheer joy of once again meeting up with other design lovers.
We hope you enjoy discovering the fruits of our efforts and as always, if you have any questions, please get in touch and we will be delighted to help.
We talk to designer Patricia Urquiola about the Taula collection of innovative dining and coffee tables in natural stone.
Get to know our Friends and Neighbors, a pair of surprising and original mirrors in natural stone, designed for by Stephen Burks.
