Artedomus Experts: Episode 1 – Introduction

On a recent design adventure in Italy, Artedomus team members from Australia visited four of the company’s most valued Italian collaborators to view first-hand the processes behind their innovative ranges.

Artedomus team members, led by managing director Phil Brenton, were recently fortunate enough to embark on an amazing design odyssey in Italy, visiting the company’s partners, leading producers of natural stone, terracotta, porcelain and bathware. The unforgettable adventure took place over two weeks, beginning in Florence then travelling to four of Artedomus’s most valued collaborators: Cotto Manetti, Fiandre (part of the Iris Ceramica Group), Decoratori Bassanesi and Agape.

Cotto Manetti’s artisan handmade workshop in Tuscany made a huge impression on William Pearse, Artedomus’s Melbourne senior business development manager. “It was wonderful to meet the artists – they are true craftsmen and -women,” he says. “I’ve been working with Cotto Manetti for at least five or six years and actually seeing what this place is all about was very exciting and very rewarding. It’s a very special family-owned business.” No moment was more moving for Pearse than witnessing an artisan working on one of the terracotta urns Manetti is renowned for. “Watching him hand-making an urn, listening to Italian music, working almost in the dark – it literally brought a tear to my eye.”

Meeting the gifted leaders behind the four brands was an integral aspect of the trip. “It was really inspiring for me personally to speak with Federica Minozzi,” Brenton recalls. “Her journey as CEO of Iris Ceramica has been something we have watched from Artedomus and something that I’ve learnt a lot from personally. I was also really lucky to sit down with Paolo Serraiotto of Decoratori Bassanesi and learn about the 37-year history of the business and the way he has shaped Bassanesi into the design studio that it is today.”

While there were countless memorable experiences over the course of the trip, Brenton recalls two of the most fantastic experiences being “visiting the Arabescato quarry inside the mountains of Carrara and watching them extract the column of marble, and dining in the sunset on the Manetti family courtyard in the middle of Tuscany.”

The Artedomus team were also shown, first-hand, where many of its Italian product lines are sourced. For example, they were taken to a marble quarry in northern Italy that operated more like an open-cut mine. “You could see just how natural the products that we represent are,” says Sydney sales manager Matthew Croll. “This is where we begin to search and find the most beautiful and durable benchtops in the world.”

Also key to the overall experience was diving deeper into the innovations behind the products and brands. “Fiandre’s new innovations regarding full-body porcelains are actually something that was used at the beginning of porcelain tile-making,” says Kaena Rumeral-Acusa, national operations coordinator. “So, what they’re doing is returning to the original roots of the process.”

The tour was an inspiring, invigorating and educational experience for the group. “Every time we come here, we are reminded how beautiful interior design and spaces can be,” says Victoria state manager Yas Bahar. “We are inspired by the elegance, the serenity, the beautiful product – and we want to take these products and ideas home with us to Australia and help our clients design spaces like this.”

Stone, tiles and surfaces by Artedomus.