Cappellini

Cappellini is an Italian design and furniture company founded by Enrico Cappellini in 1946 in Carugo. It began as a small workshop making traditional furniture according to the artisan traditions of the Brianza area. The company’s official history identifies 1977, when Giulio Cappellini joined his father’s business, as a turning point: he sought to introduce innovation and take the brand to international markets. The company makes furniture for residential and contract settings. Its range includes chairs, tables, cabinets and other furnishings, with products that combine design, material choices and options for customization. For example, the Break table collection offers a range of finishes and materials for private and contract use, while the Bac chair uses a solid ash frame and offers different wood finishes and optional leather or fabric upholstery on the front of the seat. Cappellini’s portfolio includes both new designs and reissued pieces. Its official website describes the collection as an ongoing dialogue among design innovation, material research and artistic identity. The company has worked with designers including Shiro Kuramata, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson and Tom Dixon. Its products have also been shown in museums and modern-art institutions, according to the French-language Wikipedia entry. The supplied company history documents milestones from the workshop’s founding through the early 1990s, including the launch of the Sistemi cabinet concept and collaborations that produced notable designs. The official website also presents its contract work as a continuing area of expertise. The evidence identifies an international-market ambition and activity at design events, but does not specify current ownership, headquarters, a complete country-by-country market list or current corporate leadership.

Cappellini’s history begins in 1946, when Enrico Cappellini opened a small workshop in Carugo, near Como and Milan. The workshop made traditional furniture using the artisan traditions of the Brianza area. This local craft beginning forms the starting point of the company’s account of its development into a design-led furniture business. A major change came in 1977, when Enrico’s son Giulio Cappellini joined the company with the stated aim of bringing innovation to the business and launching the brand on the international market. In 1981, Cappellini launched Sistemi, a cabinet concept that combined function and aesthetics with serial production. The company described simplicity, elegance, formal lightness and innovation as guiding principles, while allowing buyers a broad range of personalization. The company’s subsequent development was closely associated with collaborations with designers. In 1986, work between Giulio Cappellini and Shiro Kuramata led to the Progetti Compiuti collection, which the company describes as one of the most iconic in design history. In 1987, Jasper Morrison exhibited a prototype of the Thinking Man’s Chair in London; Giulio Cappellini decided to include it in the Cappellini catalogue. The official history describes this as the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration. In 1988, the relationship with Marc Newson became a partnership that produced the Embryo Chair, described by the company as one of the Australian designer’s most technologically advanced projects. In 1991, Tom Dixon collaborated with Cappellini on the S-Chair, which the company says entered permanent collections at institutions including MoMA in New York and the Triennale in Milan. Other products associated with the company include Ettore Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase, Shiro Kuramata’s Solaris and Sides 1 and 2 drawer furniture, Alessandro Mendini’s Proust sofa, Marc Newson’s Wooden Chair, Piero Lissoni’s Serie 3088, designs by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and a reissue of the Tube chair, according to the French-language Wikipedia entry. The supplied official history begins a 1992 entry but provides no readable details for that event, so no further claim about it is included here. Cappellini continues to present collections that combine reissued designs with new sculptural creations, emphasizing design innovation, material research and artistic identity. It also describes a continuing role in the contract sector, creating spaces with a range of finishes and aesthetic solutions. Recent official-site notices in the supplied evidence report participation in design events and projects, including NYCxDESIGN and the Lake Como Design Festival. The supplied material does not establish the company’s present ownership, corporate group, headquarters or current executive roster.

• 2009

  Bac chair

  [4]Bac Chair by Jasper Morrison - Chairs and small armchairs | Cappellinicappellini.com
• 1999

  Break table collection

  [3]Break by Giulio Cappellini - Tables | Cappellinicappellini.com
• 1997

  Cappellini begins manufacturing Fronzoni '64

  [1]Designer furniture and contemporary interior design | Cappellinicappellini.com
• 1991

  Tom Dixon collaborates on the S-Chair

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1988

  Embryo Chair partnership with Marc Newson

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1987

  Thinking Man’s Chair enters the Cappellini catalogue

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1986

  Progetti Compiuti launches

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1981

  Sistemi launches

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1977

  Giulio Cappellini joins the company

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
• 1946

  Enrico Cappellini opens a workshop in Carugo

  [2]About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com

Contemporary Italian designer furniture combining design innovation, material research, artistic identity and customization, for both residential and contract environments.

• Break table collection

  A Giulio Cappellini table collection for private and contract use, with configurable bases, tops, finishes and materials.

• Bac chair

  A Jasper Morrison chair with a solid ash frame and seat, available in several finishes and with optional leather or fabric upholstery on the front of the seat.

• Sistemi

  A cabinet concept launched in 1981, combining function and aesthetics with serial production and personalization options.

• Giulio Cappellini sets an innovation and internationalization directionOther

  Source

• Decision to include Thinking Man’s Chair in the catalogueOther

  Source

1. 1Designer furniture and contemporary interior design | Cappellinicappellini.com
2. 2About us | Cappellini Italian designer furniturecappellini.com
3. 3Break by Giulio Cappellini - Tables | Cappellinicappellini.com
4. 4Bac Chair by Jasper Morrison - Chairs and small armchairs | Cappellinicappellini.com
5. 5Cappellini (entreprise)fr.wikipedia.org
6. 6Cappellini S.p.A.wikidata.org