Alessi: The factory of Italian design

If there is one Italian brand that comes to mind when people speak of industrial design, it is Alessi, better known as the "Factory of Italian Design." The company was founded by the Alessi family from Luzzogno, North Italy, and started out as a craft workshop. In 1921, Giovanni Alessi produced handmade design houseware and tableware in copper, brass and nickel silver which rapidly became a household name, thanks to the quality of the pieces. Today, the company is still managed and owned by the family. It has expanded to kitchenware and office accessories in plastic, wood, crystal, porcelain, appliances, consumer electronics, watches and bathroom products.

What makes the designs so unique and collectible is their project approach. Aside from signing up designers and architects from around the world, Alessi defines it as "blending the artistic freedom of the designer with the concrete requirements of manufacturing." Alberto Alessi, who now manages Alessi, in his book The Dream Factory: Alessi Since 1921, defines a true work of design as one that is poetic and at the same time able to move people: to convey feelings, bring back memories, to surprise. "Design is one of the most apt poetic forms of expression of our day." He recounts how one of their prized designers, Richard Sapper, churns out only one new project every five years. Sapper was instrumental in putting Alessi on the map for his 9090 coffee pot, produced in 1979, an espresso coffee machine which was Alessi’s first project for the kitchen after the 1930s. It was not only a bestseller, it was also awarded the XIth Compasso d’Oro in Italy in 1979 and is on display at the MoMA in New York. He also designed a singing kettle, which literally whistles in two pitch-pipes in E and B notes when the water is at boiling point.

Handling designers, according to Alberto Alessi, requires creativity. For instance, to motivate Achille Castiglioni, who designed the Mayonnaise Spoon, he was given an idea that tickled his imagination (usually over tumblers of whisky).

Among all the designers, Philippe Starck is the living example of what real design is all about, according to Alessi. The designer terrible of the decade and the leader of the French design renaissance, Starck is best known for his transformation of ordinary objects into collector’s items such as the spidery Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, produced in 1990, and the Dr. Skud fly swatter, produced in 1998, which when moved, reverts back and reveals a face of a man.

Of Alessi’s stable of designers and architects, the youngest master is Stefano Giovannoni who has a penchant for designing small objects with child-like touches. The Mary Biscuit Box with its colorful rendition evokes sweetness as it is in a pillow shape with a biscuit on top of it. The Lilliput, produced in 1993, is original and cute with its two containers shaped like an alien complete with its magnetic feet sticking to the base. Another one of those surprises is the Magic Bunny Toothpick Holder, produced in 1998, looking like a bunny in a hat and when the ears are pulled up, the toothpicks are revealed. The rabbit theme is followed through in the Bunny and Carrot Kitchen Paper Towel Roll Holder, produced in 1998, which at first glance looks like a child’s toy.

Alessi’s strategy is to produce a complete family of objects for the table and the kitchen in the same theme. Alessandro Mendini is one of Alessi’s legendary designer-architects who brought in other designers that have worked for Alessi as well as introduced the company’s famous collector’s items: The Anna and Recinto families.

The Recinto family, initially produced in 1997, is a set of trays and baskets with a scalloped border. The Anna G corkscrew, produced in 1994, was a runaway success that led to the creation of a complete set of table and kitchenware all banking on the cult status of the Anna icon.

American designer Michael Graves proved to be one of Alessi’s most bankable designers since his designs appeal to a broader audience. His Kettle Bird, produced in 1985, tweets like a bird at boiling point, has a rubber grip on the handle and is a stainless steel beauty. Its extended family of objects includes a cream jug, sugar bowl, pepper mill, salt castor, kitchen timer, kitchen oil cruet, carafe, corkscrew and champagne stopper.

Stefano Giovannoni, together with fellow Florentine architect Guido Venturini, designed the Girotondo project in 1989, which is Alessi’s bestselling tray to this day. As family follows fiction, the men-like forms in the tray termed as "King Kong" have become endearing to the public. It has now expanded to kitchenware items like a chopping board, napkin holder and miscellaneous items such as key rings, candles, book holders and even jewelry. According to Alessi, what made it successful is its playful style and its ability to evoke emotions. Alessi refers to this as the "child code," a style inspired by cartoons and wistful childlike imagination.

No longer do we need to travel abroad to acquire those much coveted Alessi objects. Here in the Philippines, Alessi products may be obtained and ordered at Arrakis Oggetti in Shangri-La Hotel Shopping Arcade; they are also available at Rustan’s Department Store.

Robbie Francisco, Arrakis Oggetti’s 24-year-old general manager, says that there’s indeed a market for such design products that mostly appeal to young professionals who like fun objects and appreciate design objects. Their clients include celebrities such as Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez, and restaurateur Gaita Fores.

But why buy a very costly Alessi when one could get a copy at an affordable price? Francisco explains that when one buys an Alessi, one buys into a lifestyle that is characterized as beautiful and yet practical. People who buy an Alessi know it is good design that translate to good quality. More importantly, owning an Alessi is like having art objects in one’s kitchen and home.