Flexform
 | |
| SpA | |
| Industry | design furniture; |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Headquarters | Meda, Italy |
Key people | Agostino, Pietro e Romeo Galimberti |
| Products | sofas, sectional sofas, armchairs, tables and chairs, ottomans and complements; |
Number of employees | 135 |
| Website |
www |
Flexform SpA is an Italian company with its head office in Meda, Italy, at the centre of the furniture production district of La Brianza. Founded in 1959 by the Galimberti brothers, the company designs, produces and markets furniture and furnishing accessories for residential and public use.[1]
History
In the early 20th century the Galimberti family opened an artisan workshop to build armchairs and sofas. In 1959 brothers Romeo, Pietro and Agostino Galimberti decided to call the activity Flexform di Galimberti, marketing their products in the local area.[2]
In 1967 it became a public limited company and was transformed from an artisan workshop into an industrial firm. Collaborations began with Italian architects and creatives, many of whom destined to become the protagonists of Italian design.[3]
In 1969 Flexform entrusted the study of the brand to Pino Tovaglia, the graphic designer who designed the Pirelli brand in the same years,[4] while designer Joe Colombo created the Tube Chair armchair, which was subsequently exhibited in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.[5]
From the 1970s Flexform began to export abroad. Participating in the Cologne Furniture Fair in Germany, it made its name on the markets of Northern Europe. There followed years of economic expansion in Europe, which prompted the second generation of the Galimberti family to broaden its commercial horizons to the countries across the ocean. With the entry of the third generation, in the late 1990s exports were consolidated to Brazil, Russia, China, the USA and the countries of the Far and Middle East.[6]
In the meantime the need grew to further diversify the offer to satisfy the tastes of the emerging markets. So 2001 saw the launch of Flexform Mood, a new collection of products with an international and retro style, initially coordinated by US designer John Hutton.
Flexform has remained a family company. It has 135 employees and a plant covering an area of 30,000 square metres. All production continues to take place exclusively in Italy, in Meda, to keep the product Made in Italy, as it originally was [7]
Designers
Over the years, designers and architects including the following have been involved in the study of new products: Asnago-Vender, Sergio Asti, Cini Boeri, Joe Colombo, Paolo Nava, Rodolfo Bonetto, Carlo Colombo, Gigi Radice and Giulio Manzoni.[8] Over the last 40 years the entire collection has been coordinated by architect Antonio Citterio.
Award
A.B.C.D. armchair designed by Antonio Citterio has been selected by Associazione per il disegno industriale for ADI Design Index 2015 "I MIGLIORI PROGETTI DI DESIGN ITALIANO DEL 2015".
Bibliography
- Mario Mastropietro, Rolando Gorla, Un'industria per il design, Ed. Lybra immagine - ISBN 88-8223-035-X
- Andrea Branzi, Design italiano, 1964-1990, Ed. Electa - ISBN 978-8843553754
- Maria Cristina Tommasini, Mario Pancera, Il design italiano: protagonisti, opere, scuole, Ed. Editoriale G.Mondadori
- Andrea Branzi, Introduzione al design italiano: una modernità incompleta, Ed. Baldini Castoldi Dalai - ISBN 9788860730718
- Giulio Castelli, Paola Antonelli, Francesca Picchi, La fabbrica del design: conversazioni con i protagonisti del design italiano, Ed. Skira
- Charlotte e Peter Fiell, 1000 Chairs, Ed. Taschen - ISBN 978-8843553754
- Laura Lazzaroni, 35 anni di design al Salone del Mobile, Cosmit
- Massimo Pitis con Cristina Dell'edera, Pino Tovaglia. La regola che corregge l'emozione, Edizioni Corriani
- Sergio Campo dall'Orto, Imprese eccellenti. Le aziende milanesi che non temono la crisi, Ed. Franco Angeli - ISBN 8856818019
- Jim Postell, Furniture Design, Ed. John WIley & Sons Inc. - ISBN 9781118090787
- Giovanni Albera, Nicolas Monti, Italian modern: a design heritage - Ed. Rizzoli - ISBN 9780847810345
- Antonio Marazza, Stefania Saviolo, Lifestyle brand: Le marche che ispirano la nostra vita, Ed. Rizzoli Etas - ISBN 9788858623756
- Alberto Bassi, Antonio Citterio: industrial designer, Ed. Electa Architecture - ISBN 9781904313366
- Bernd Polster, Claudia Neumann, Markust Schuler, Frederick Leven, The A-Z of modern design, Ed. Merrell
- Pippo Ciorra, Antonio Citterio, Terry Dwan, Antonio Citterio, Terry Dwan: ten years of architecture and design - Ed. Birkhäuser Verlag - ISBN 9783764355975
- Giampiero Bosoni, Italian Design - Ed. Museum of Modern Art - ISBN 9780870707384
- Silvana Annicchiarico, Andrea Branzi, Barbara McGilvray, John Venerella, Che cosa è il design italiano? : le sette ossessioni del design italiano, Ed. Triennale Electa - ISBN 978-88-370-5981-1
- Carlo Ducci, Luxury in living, Ed. Electa - ISBN 9788837034894
- Juli Capella, Quim Larrea, Designed by architects in the 1980s, Ed. Rizzoli - ISBN 9780847809417
- Nally Bellati, New Italian design, Ed. Rizzoli - ISBN 9780847812585
- Mel Byars, Terence Riley, The design encyclopedia, Ed. London King - ISBN 9780870700125
See also
References
- ↑ "Flexform – One of the greatest Italian quality brands partners with Satariano Home"
- ↑ Sergio Campodall'Orto (2009). Imprese eccellenti. Le aziende milanesi che non temono la crisi. FrancoAngeli.
- ↑ Giampiero Bosoni (2008). Italian Design. Museum of Modern Art.
- ↑ Massimo Pitis, Cristina Dell'edera. Pino Tovaglia. La regola che corregge l'emozione. Edizioni Corriani.
- ↑ ""Tube" Chair".
- ↑ "Flexform apre otto showroom monomarca".
- ↑ "Come nasce un divano".
- ↑ Nally Bellati (1990). New Italian design. Rizzoli.