"Plastic was equivalent with America for us. Only Bakelite came from Europe. Right? But after the war, everything plastic came to Italy from the States. Purely commercial stuff, but every year a new material came on the market", recalled Italian architect and designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri in a 1997 interview, "We wanted to try out what all can be made with these new materials"1 And try she did. With an élan that resulted in an enviable portfolio of products that have not only become
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One of the biggest challenges facing product designers in coming years will undoubtedly be the question of planned obsolescence. For while we genuinely believe that the majority of designers understand their responsibilities in terms of sustainability and resources, we also know that most designers understand their responsibilities to help their clients generate profit. Finding the correct balance wont be easy. But it must be found. Perhaps the most distressing example of planned
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August 6th marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Italian architect, designer and Kartell co-founder Anna Castelli Ferrieri. Despite initial flirtations with modernism, including a trip to Paris to visit Le Corbusier, the young Anna Castelli Ferrieri was drawn ever more to the Italian neo-rationalism - especially that practiced by Franco Albini. And although Kartell products may not be physically reminiscent of the work of Albini, the ethos behind the company and its approach to
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