COMPANY PROFILE An innovative italian lighting design company · Rum, Bo Bedre, Elle Interior, Skona Hem, Eigen-Huis, VT Wonen, De Architect, A+, DAMn, Wohnrevue, Feeling Wonen/Gael

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COMPANY PROFILEAn innovative italian lightingdesign company

A company that makes its dreams come true. A technological and creative workshop thatconceives, develops and produces not just lampsbut pure emotions, in collaboration with manyother designers from around the world. A company that is free, passionate,unconventional and right at the heart of the industry in which it thrives. This is Foscarini.

01. INTRO

A designing and technological tour de force, Foscarini explores an entire world of materials and solutions. Their research atelierexperiments, free of any mental barriers or technical restraintsthrough flexible, efficient and high quality production, while thesales and logistics organisation distributes with equal care all over the world the smallest table lamp to the largest lighting set.Foscarini: a special personality in the world of lighting.

– Sede Foscarini,Marcon (Ve) / Foscariniheadquarter, Marcon(Ve)

– (in senso orario) lo showroom,nel magazzino il controlloqualità, la mensa, vista degli uffici / (clockwise) showroom, qualitycontrols, cafeteria, offices

– Prima sede Foscarini, Murano/ First Foscarini headquarter,Murano

– Compasso d’Oro, 2001

FOSCARINI — COMPANY PROFILE

02. COMPANY

Foscarini’s headquarters are housed in an architect-designed, contemporarybuilding in sync with its corporatemission to provide cutting edge designand sales service with logistics and warehousing providing total qualitycontrol.

In the mid 1990’s, Foscarini's wish to provide design service tointernational markets led to astrategic move from the island ofMurano to Marcon, on the Venetianterra firma. Here, they built a newfacility, whose modern aesthetic isaligned with Foscarini’s creativecorporate spirit. They are certified UNI EN ISO 9001which guarantees the quality of allthe company processes, fromdesigning to production, to customerservices. With the same spirit thatprovides new ideas in lighting design,Foscarini also creates its own moreefficient programs for customer andpartner communication.

For instance, My Foscarini, aproprietary it platform, allows 24/7connectivity to current productavailability, order placement andshipment tracking.


03. FOCUS

Why are Foscarini lamps so differentfrom each other, yet share commonconcepts and values?

Foscarini focuses on developing new products but chooses only toput into production those thatexpress new ideas. While inspiration is always valued,Foscarini’s development phasesometimes takes years ofprogressive research to analyzematerials, shapes, processes andoperating modes that sometimeslead to results drastically differentfrom the initial concept. This is why Foscarini lamps are so innovative yet built to weather thewhim of trends and become trueclassics.

04. COLLECTION

Over 50 models, more than 20 differentmaterials and more than 30 designerscome together to form a collection of individual lamps, each with a unique storyto address a need with striking beauty.

With a surprising visual simplicity,often the result of complicated butconcealed technology, Foscarini’slamps have an impeccable logic that goes beyond the conventional and the commonplace. From its founding, in the early 1980’s, Foscarini has stood out fromother Murano glass lampmanufacturers because it did nothave its own furnace. Not tied to aparticular manufacturing process,Foscarini could pick the mostsuitable supplier for each project in question.

This freedom led Carlo Urbinati and Alessandro Vecchiato, first asdesigners then as the companymanagers, to experiment withmaterials and processes other thanblown glass. As a result, thecollection could flexibly respond to a changing world as new materials and technologies becameavailable.

MITE– Sviluppo del progetto elavorazione del diffusore / Projectdevelopment and making of theshade

TROPICO– Studio del modulo / Studyon the module

CABOCHE– Sviluppo del progetto e studiodelle sfere / Project developmentand study on the spheres


TRESS– Sviluppo del progetto e studiodel nastro / Project developmentand study on the ribbon

LE SOLEIL– Dettagli del diffusore.Studio del progetto/ Shade details. Projectstudy

TWIGGY– Studio e particolari del progetto / Project study and details

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BINIC– Schizzi e dettagli dellalampada smontata /Drawings and details of the lamp

TUA– Studio del progetto/ Project study

GREGG– Studio della forma e lavorazionedel diffusore / Study on the shapeand making of the diffuser

LUMIERE– Lavorazione del diffusorein vetro soffiato /Manufacture of the blownglass shade


1990 Folio, Lumiere 1992 Orbital 1993 Bit,Havana, Quadro 1994 Circus 1995Lightweight 1996 Dolmen, Double, Dress,Esa 1998 Cross, Qua, Shape, Totem 2000 Bubble, Cocò, Mite, Tite, Supernova,2001 Affix, Lite, Manta, Tutù 2002 Blob2003 Bague, Ellepi, Kite, O-space, Yet2004 Gea, Giga-Lite, Mega-Kite 2005 BigBang, Caboche, Uto 2006 Twiggy 2007 Allegro, Easy, Empire, Fields, Gregg,New Buds, See you, Tosca, Wagashi 2008Tress, Tropico 2009 Flap, Fly-Fly, Allegretto,Le Soleil, Lumiere XXL, Wave 2010Aplomb, Bahia, Tua, Troag, Binic, LumiereXXS



– LUMIERE XXL+XXS designRodolfo Dordoni, 2009/2010

Maurizio Baruffi, Valerio Bottin, Aldo Cibic, Roberto De Santi,Designwork, Tom Dixon, Rodolfo Dordoni,Jozeph Forakis, Enrico Franzolini,Gianpietro Gai, Massimo Gardone, Eliana Gerotto, Giulio Iacchetti, Vicente Garcia Jimenez, Studio Kairos,Defne Koz, Lagranja Design, Ferruccio Laviani, Giovanni Levanti,Lievore Asociados, Paolo Lucidi,Alessandra Matilde, Luca Nichetto, Atelier Oï, Roberto e Ludovica Palomba,Luca Pevere, Karim Rashid, Prospero Rasulo, Marc Sadler, Pio e Tito Toso, Patricia Urquiola, Ionna Vautrin, Marco Zito


Foscarini has so many designs, bothfrom young designers as well asestablished names, which havegained much notoriety. For example,Rodolfo Dordoni’s Lumiere hasbecome one of Foscarini's best-sellers, a contemporary, or ratheruniversal revamping of a classicblown glass lamp. Ferruccio Laviani’sOrbital “sculpture lamp” was soimpressive it was chosen as thesubject of a stamp issue dedicatedto design. Jozeph Forakis conceivedHavana, another international iconfor the company and the firstFoscarini lamp made with a materialother than glass, now part of thepermanent collection at the NewYork MoMA. Marc Sadler, theundisputed master of contemporarydesign, produced Mite and Tite whichwon the 2001 Compasso d’Oro.These two lamps were developedafter years of research and tests, inan innovative mixture of fibreglassand carbon or Kevlar®. And yet more

world-wide successes, includeCaboche by Patricia Urquiola andEliana Gerotto, O-Space by Luca Nichetto and Giampietro Gai,Twiggy and Tress by Marc Sadler,Gregg by L+R Palomba, Le Soleil byVicente Garcia Jimenez, and therecent Aplomb by Lucidi and Pevereand Binic by Ionna Vautrin… Every Foscarini lamp has a specialstory to tell.

05. DESIGNERS

Design first and foremost. Thought beforeshape. The spirit of the project guides the choice of material. These are the distinguishing traits of a huge “work in progress” that teams up great maestros and young talents.

– ALLEGRO al ristorante Le Bombarde, Arsenale (Venezia,Italia) / Allegro at Le Bombarderestaurant, Arsenale (Venice, Italy)

06. PROJECTS

Foscarini’s flexibility and desire tocollaborate with designers have enabledit to develop custom projects bygrouping their lamps in large numbers,responsive to the most diversecontemporary settings.

The company is willing to producecustom products simply by changingstandard finishes and compositions.Foscarini also devises specificsolutions for large spaces in theform of light sculptures that are theresult of the creative assembly ofstandard lamps. This has given riseto lighting events, including FiberEvolution in collaboration with MarcSadler and Tropico with GiulioIacchetti, which have travelled acrossthe design capitals of Europe andthe U.S.A

This acquired experience led to thecoining of a program called FoscariniEvolution in 2010 to communicatethe company’s ability to collaboratewith designers, experiment withdiverse materials and exploit theinfinite composition potential ofstandard models to surprising effect.

– CABOCHE al Motel One, Dresda(Germania) / Caboche at Motel One,Dresden (Germany)pag. 27 Raccolta di progetti contract / Contract projects collection


Casamica, Domus, Case da Abitare,Grazia Casa, Abitare, DCasa, Elle Decor, National Geographic,l’Espresso, Home Germany, A&W, AIT,Elle Decoration Germany, Home Austria,Ideales Heim, Espaces Contemporains,Ideat, Elle Decoration France, Archicrèe,Arquitectura y Diseño, Casaviva, Projecto Contract, On Diseño, Wallpaper,Rum, Bo Bedre, Elle Interior, SkonaHem, Eigen-Huis, VT Wonen, De Architect, A+, DAMn, Wohnrevue,Feeling Wonen/Gael Maison, ResidenceSvezia, Drome Magazine


07. COMMUNICATION

As unmistakable as the Foscarini lampsthemselves, the corporate image is theresult of a creative task akin to thedesigning of its products, to explore newapproaches and stir further emotions.

From advertising to events,publishing and the web, Foscarini’s“communication design” uses anextensive range of coordinated tools.

The products are illustrated incatalogues targeted to differenttypes of customer: the CollectionBook is a general catalogueproviding details of the origins,inspiration, development and generalbackstage information for theFoscarini product range; theTechnical Book, provides technicalinformation required for sales and installation; while the Workscatalogue is a collection ofinterpretations for the contract andcollective industry featuring modelsfrom the Foscarini collection; theNews catalogue features the year’snew products. Foscarini advertisinghighlights the iconic value of itsproducts, in spreads featured in the leading international architecture and furniture magazines.

The website is a dynamic andinteractive tool to inform the publicand industry specialists of any newsin the Foscarini world: from theproducts, to the cultural initiativesand events.

An important strategycommunicating Foscarini’s corporateidentity is through participation inthe major trade fairs and events inthe design world with installationsthat convey the value and personalityof the brand. This presence is notmerely commercial but creative,poetic and thrilling at the same time.

01 – Collectionbook

03 – Technicalbook

04 – News

02 – Works

– Copertina e pagine interne dei cataloghi aziendali / Companycatalogues cover and pages

NEW MEDIA– Sito internet e applicazioneiFoscarini / Website and iFoscarini application


– Infinity, Milano Designweek 2009.Installazione Vicente Garcia Jimenez, video Massimo Gardone, musicheFrancesco Morosini. Evento selezionatodall’ADI per il Design Index 2010 / Infinity, Milan Designweek 2009. Installation design Vicent Garcia Jimenez,video Massimo Gardone, music FrancescoMorosini. Selected by ADI, for the DesignIndex 2010

a destra – Installazione Foscarini Evolution,Designer’s Saturday 2010, Langenthal(Svizzera) / Foscarini Evolution installationDesigner’s Saturday 2010, Langenthal(Switzerland)


– La Biennale di Venezia con lampadeFoscarini: Uto, Tropico. Havana e BigBang Evolution all’Arsenale / La Biennale di Venezia with Foscarinilamps: Uto, Tropico. Havana andBigBang Evolution at the Arsenale

08. CULTURE

Foscarini contributes to spreading and supportingdesign culture: from the presence of its productsat the Art and Architecture Biennale in Venice, to its inclusion in the collection of New York’sMoMA, the Milan Triennial Exhibition and a large number of other internationalmuseums, to the launching of new publishing initiatives.

The positive experience with Luxmagazine, which from 2002 to 2008was the spokes piece for new ideas,materials and creative stimuli, led to the creation of “INVENTARIO –Everything is a project”. It is not intended as an advertisingvehicle for Foscarini, but rather as a genuine magazine-book, directedby Beppe Finessi, architect anduniversity lecturer and distributed onan international scale in the bestbookshops and major museumbookshops. A free and illuminatedlook at the universe of design andthe world we live in: design,architecture and art, it also containsstrange life stories, analyses

of objects created by nature andother freestyle topics. Without feelingconstrained, without ties to theFoscarini brand and its products: in the belief that everything thatsurrounds us, every moment weexperience is a project to be sharedwith others. Through its support ofINVENTARIO, Foscarini conveys itsown values and looks forwardattentively and curiously, to the purepleasure of experimenting,innovating, creating: as always in thespirit of this company and of thepeople who work within it or with itevery day.

– “INVENTARIO-Tutto è progetto”presentazione alla Biennale di Architettura di Venezia, 2010 / “INVENTARIO-Everything is a Project” preview at Biennale diArchitettura 2010, Venice

Home page del sito / Home page ofwww.inventario-bookzine.com


09. NUMBERS

37,4

77%

8,5% 8%

30

Consolidated turnover for the year2010: 37.4 million Euros

Communication: 8.5% ofturnover invested in brandpromotion and communicationactivities, a third of which in cultural activities.

Research: 8% of turnoverinvested in research and development of newproducts

Materials: the lamps in theFoscarini collection are madewith over 30 differentmaterials

Export rate: 77% of turnover

65Number of employees:65, average age 35

1996Company Quality Certification:UNI EN ISO 9001, awarded in 1996, among the first in theindustry

5Logistics: 5 warehouses across the world, with the aim ofdelivering as quickly as possible,from 2 to 5 days, all over theglobe

88Distribution: direct, in 88countries world-wide

2800Sales points: 2,800 shops,specialising in lighting or furniture

10. TIMELINE

1981

1983

1985

1988

1990

1992

1993

1994

1996

2000

2001

2002

2003

2005

2007

2008

Foscarini Spa set up on Muranoisland (Venice).

First collection of lamps designedby Carlo Urbinati and AlessandroVecchiato.

First collection in collaborationwith external designers: wassilyoff the wall by Adam Tihany andJoseph Mancini.

Carlo Urbinati and AlessandroVecchiato become the companyowners and managers.

Rodolfo Dordoni designs lumiere,Foscarini’s first major success.

orbital, Ferruccio Laviani’s debutlamp, is the first Foscarini lampmade of industrial glass.

havana, designed by Jozeph Forakis,is the first Foscarini lamp made of amaterial other than glass, namelypolyethylene.

Foscarini moves from Muranoisland to Marcon, on Venetian terrafirma.

The company is among the first inthe industry to receive UNI EN ISO 9001 quality systemcertification.

The mite and tite, lampsdeveloped in conjunction withMarc Sadler are launched. The same year, Foscarini launchesits first corporate identitycommunication project.

Foscarini and Marc Sadler, thanksto the mite and tite lamps, areawarded the Compasso d’Oro for“the bold technological innovation”.

Lux magazine, Foscarini’s firstpublishing experience, starts off.

The new Foscarini facility isinaugurated in Marcon (Venice).

caboche, designed by PatriciaUrquiola and Eliana Gerotto,inaugurates a successful season forFoscarini, with models such astwiggy Marc Sadler – 2006, greggL+R Palomba –2007, tress MarcSadler –2008, le soleil VicenteGarcia Jimenez –2009. These products can truly expresstheir innovative and design culturecontents, owing also to thecompany's accrued experience in all fields: from technology, to communication, to logistics.

Foscarini becomes the officialsponsor of the Venice BiennaleExhibition.

2009

2010

Foscarini and Diesel sign a licensing deal, as part of the “Home Collection” furniture andlifestyle project. This partnership gives Foscarinithe opportunity to liaise with a newtarget and explore new lifestylesand furnishing trends, through acollection conceived by Diesel forits own target: “Successful Livingfrom Diesel with Foscarini”.

Foscarini presents a new publishingadventure, mid way between a bookand a magazine, called“INVENTARIO – Everything is a project”.

—

FOSCARINI SRL via delle Industrie 27 30020 Marcon / Ve - Italy T +39 041 5953811 F +39 041 5953820 e-mail: [email protected]

Documents

COMPANY PROFILE An innovative italian lighting design company · Rum, Bo Bedre, Elle Interior, Skona Hem, Eigen-Huis, VT Wonen, De Architect, A+, DAMn, Wohnrevue, Feeling Wonen/Gael