Category Archives: Italian Design

Delightful Designs – 1946 SIRIO Elettra II camera

As well as being a Leica fan I’m also intrigued by the many ‘Look-a-Leicas’ that mostly appeared in the decade after WW2. The launch of the first Leica in 1925 caused a sensation, changing the way people took photographs. Tens … Continue reading

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Great Designers Remembered – Pier Giorgio Perotto and the first PC

This month marks the 50th Anniversary of the launch of the world’s first commercially produced personal computer, the Olivetti Programma 101, during the Business Equipment Exhibition at the New York World’s Fair in October 1965. No, it wasn’t IBM, Hewlett-Packard, or … Continue reading

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Disappointing Designs – Alfa Romeo Giulia

If you’re an Alfa Romeo enthusiast you need to be very resilient to keep faith with the brand! From the boxy looking 1960s Giulias (the accident prone grey police cars in the Italian Job) to the Capybara look-alike Mito, they just … Continue reading

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Delightful Designs – Arteluce Bean Bag Light

Arteluce Model 600p light – Gino Sarfatti 1966 Designed in that ‘Golden Age’ of Italian design* nearly 50 years ago, it still looks startlingly modern today**. A brilliantly simple concept, taking advantage of the leather and metal-working skills of Northern Italy, the … Continue reading

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Delightful Designs – Alessi Birdsong Tea Strainer

Alessi ‘Tea Matters’ Melodic Tea Strainer – Alan Chan 2010 No other manufacturer would, or could, make such a quirky and delightful product. Ostensibly for straining tea but imagined as a cage containing the strainer in the shape of a bird, all … Continue reading

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Alessi Makes Serious Coffee

Alessi Neapolitan Coffee Maker – La Tavola di Babele Another one of Alessi’s beautiful masterpieces of design and construction. It only makes a few small cups of delicious coffee and there are a lot of things to clean afterwards, but … Continue reading

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