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Artedomus Experts: Episode 7 – The Italian Art of Customisation and Bespoke Design
The Artedomus team visits long-time Italian partners to explore how customised solutions in terrazzo, porcelain, stone and terracotta offer exceptional design flexibility for Australian architects and designers.
From terrazzo tiles to large-format porcelain panels, customisation remains a defining feature of the Artedomus approach. In a recent design-focused tour, the Artedomus team travelled through Italy to meet with long-standing partners and explore how project-specific solutions are developed from the outset.
“What Artedomus can help you with is choosing not only the right material, but also the right way to have it created specifically for your project.”
Through close collaboration with expert manufacturers, makers and world-class quarries, Artedomus continues to deliver on the promise of personalisation – giving architects and designers the tools to develop design solutions tailored to each project. As Artedomus NSW sales manager Matt Croll explains, “Whether it’s terrazzo, porcelain, stone or terracotta, what Artedomus can help you with is choosing not only the right material, but also the right way to have it created specifically for your project.”
At a specialist terrazzo manufacturer in the region, the team saw how this process unfolds. “Terrazzo is manufactured using a combination of cement and various aggregates,” says Croll. “We work closely with our manufacturers to customise products to suit individual projects. There are minimum orders, but we’ve created some very beautiful and unique combinations.”
The demand for customisation often begins with the designers themselves. “We work with really talented designers who understand the materials, the gaps in the market, and what’s needed,” says Artedomus Victoria state manager Yas Bahar. “Together, we create new colours and compositions that offer something different.”
The team’s journey continued to Milan, where they visited Agape 12, the flagship showroom of renowned Italian bathroom specialist Agape. Since its founding in the 1970s, Agape has offered a flexible approach to bathroom design – from soft-touch colour finishes on basins to made-to-order shelving and modular systems. “With Agape, you can create an entirely customised environment,” says Artedomus Melbourne senior business development manager William Pearse. “Their design philosophy looks at the bathroom as more than a single formal module. There’s modularity, shelving, soft-touch finishes, custom colours – everything you need to design a space that’s tailored.”
Next, the team visited Fiandre, known for pioneering digital printing on large-format ceramic panels. “The ability to literally print anything on the surface is incredible,” says Artedomus managing director Phil Brenton. “We’ve worked on cultural projects like an Armenian church in the US, where we helped reproduce botanical motifs that held strong meaning for the community. The ability to customise was essential.”
The team also visited Cotto Manetti, a family-run kiln in Tuscany producing handcrafted terracotta. “They still use wood-fired kilns and source the clay from their own land,” says Bahar. “There’s a sense of history and permanence in the product that’s incredibly special.” Brenton reflects on the collaboration with Cotto Manetti through the New Volumes collection: “One of the most special things we’ve done together was the development of the second New Volumes collection.”
“One of the most special things we’ve done together was the development of the second New Volumes collection.”
Through these longstanding relationships and direct collaborations, Artedomus continues to offer Australian designers the flexibility to create truly unique and tailored solutions for every project.
Surfaces by Artedomus. Production by The Local Production.
