uncino stool

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (b. 1971 and 1976) are a team of two brothers from the Brittany region in Northwest France. They began working together in 1999 and maintain a constant collaborative dialogue that incorporates each personality, and strikes a balance within their mutual quest for diligence and fineness. The brothers work with numerous manufacturers, such as Vitra and Cappellini. Their partnership with Vitra in 2002 has brought about perhaps their most prolific line of work, including the Joyn office system, and notable pieces like the Algues, the Alcove Sofa, the Worknest, the Slow Chair, the Vegetal and L’Oiseau. The brothers Bouroullec continue their vegetation-inspired work of natural and organic shapes and are recognized with various awards, in permanent collections, and in exhibitions all over the world.

Among contemporary furniture manufacturers, Mattiazzi, the family owned producer of wooden furniture in Udine, Italy, is uncommon. While many producers in that region rely on third party factories and work in diverse materials, Mattiazzi operates with their own machines and hands, and has developed a healthy obsession for woodworking. Since 1978, when brothers Nevio and Fabiano Mattiazzi founded the company, Mattiazzi has steadily cultivated its local manufacturing culture. Their network of wood shops is diverse enough to support any manufacturing process the brand may need. Every shop has its own focus, from milling to lacquering, and a particular process always belongs to a specific part of town. But don’t let the neighborhood approach confuse you: Mattiazzi is no backyard shop. Their highly specialized craftsmen operate the most sophisticated machinery available to the wood industry. An eight-axis CNC milling machine allows wood to take the complex shapes associated with injection-molded plastic. Operating such a machine is an art and Mattiazzi disproves the modern myth that mechanized manufacturing is not a craft.