ALESSI SPA

The leading company in design

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A family business led today by Alberto Alessi Jr nephew of the founder Alberto Alessi Sr

The Alessi company is probably Europe's most important producer of designer kitchen utilities and tableware. Established in 1921, today the company has around 2,000 different objects in its repertoire, a number of which are now considered classic examples of twentieth century design. The founding principle of the organization is to manufacture a variety of objects created by leading designers in order to fulfill people's day to day needs with mass produced articles and at the same moment provide for their aesthetic desires. Alessi's production of kitchen, table ware, office and domestic goods have been conceived by a range of famous designers and architects, including Philippe Starck, Alessandro Mendini, Richard Meier, Aldo Rossi, Michael Graves and Ararta Isozaki.

From 1979, Alessi began to produce objects for the kitchen, a theme that grew to become one of the main themes of the Alessi workshop. Richard Sapper's whistling kettle was one of the first great successes and was only Sapper's second piece. It was so successful that the kettle quickly became a cult object for the 80's. Another great success and one of Alessi's longest running projects involved cookery equipment. Alessi invited Europe's best cooks to consult with a design team to tailor each individual object. The project took seven years to complete and produced a set that is now one of the most accomplished products in the Alessi oeuvre.

Alessi not only employs modern designers but also uses prototypes dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. The reproductions give a new meaning to objects originally designed and made by hand and now replicated in larger numbers using new technologies. A good example is the cutlery set designed by the Castiglioni brothers in 1934 and now mass produced by Alessi.

In 1989 Alessandro Mendini, chief architect of the Groningen Museum project, was the mastermind behind Alessi's 100% concept. The notion was that Mendini would design a vase mould to be subsequently produced in porcelain and then commissioned 100 people to conceive decoration for the surface of the vase which would then each be produced in 100 copies. It's a clear example of the balance Alessi maintains between mass production individual craftsmanship.

The 100% concept also illustrates Alessi's maxim of taking risks in design production. Co-operation with Philippe Starck, for instance, resulted in a debate on the relationship between form and function. Starck's citrus squeezer for Alessi is appealing in form but as a squeezer is most impractical. Starck's famous kettle attracts the same criticism. Items that wouldn't progress past a sketch in ordinary mass production because of the risks and costs involved were but another experiment, challenge and experience for Alessi.

For Alberto Alessi, the design factory is a symbol of a new approach challenging the uniformity of mass production. He not only wants to deliver functionality but also inspire, making every day life just that little bit more interesting.