Classic themes with a contemporary twist

When the industry encounters handcrafting quality, the outcome is a success story. Maxalto's story commenced in 1975, and is closely related with architects Afra and Tobia Scarpa, who designed all the collections until 1992 and the current production facility too. Home furnishings conceived by Afra and Tobia Scarpa were soon acknowledged as the landmark of Italian design. A collection of precious wood furniture entirely “made in Italy.”

In the age of plastic, when enthusiasm suggested other experimentation modes, the decision to use wood was both extremely daring and outside the lines. Tobia Scarpa defined the core trait of the entire collection, objects made of precious materials, such as wood, carefully processed “piece by piece,” and finished by an expert craftsman.
The search for iconic objects merges with the intention to design a modern room. A style that combines geometrical simplification of shapes with highly refined, subtly concealed, production quality. And it is all achieved by recovering, or inventing, the production methods typical of expert craftsmanship. Hence the creation of collection items, such as chairs made of Africa wood in the Artona collection, or the New Harmony collection.

Until 1993 Maxalto's collection was coordinated by Antonio Citterio. The tradition comes to life today with modern traits. “I followed a theme when I designed the Maxalto collection, precisely the meaning of the bourgeois room and of the past century's tradition,” says Antonio Citterio. “Each piece tells of its function, celebrating a solid and reassuring ritual. The desk is a desk and nothing more, and its place is that of concentration.“
Research on modern furnishings conducted by Antonio Citterio leans towards shapes that recall the romanticism of French design between the two world wars. This is how Maxalto's stylistic traits are born, the landmark brand for interior décor.