A Polished Performance
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THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS |
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ORIGINALLY FROM ARGENTINA, Dr. Adriana Oller, joined NiPERA in 1994 after receiving her Ph.D. in genetic
toxicology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
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ONE OF THE MAJOR focuses of Oller’s research is to investigate the risks of respiratory cancer in an
occupational setting. |
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日本語 |
Blending tradition and innovation, alessi makes more than a great cup of coffee by Thom Loree
Nickel Magazine, December 2006 -- Mention the name “Alessi” to virtually anyone in the Italian Alps and you’ll be met with proud smiles. That’s because the Alessi company, a local tradition since 1921, is synonymous with craftsmanship and the highest standards in design. What many don’t know is that the renowned design house, founded by Giovanni Alessi in the foothills near Novara, depends heavily on nickel-containing stainless steel to meet those standards.
“The production of items by metal pressworks is the core business of Alessi,” says Gaia Di Palma of the press agency Di Palmi Associati, “and a key part of Alessi’s success is the use of materials such as stainless steels, which guarantee easy maintenance and aesthetic integrity.”
Workability, corrosion resistance and cleanability are among the chief reasons designers associated with Alessi choose stainless, though wood, porcelain, plastic, glass and crystal are also used, testifying to the company’s diversity and spirit of experimentation.
The manufacture of kitchen items in stainless steel is a long-standing tradition in and around the Alps town of Crusinallo (northwest of Milan), where Alessi is currently based. Many of the objects produced by Alessi in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the nickel silver Tea and Coffee Service, the nickel-plated brass Flask Holder and the Cheese Tray in fine nickel silver, have become part of the collective memory for generations of Italians. All are made with exquisite craft and skill.
Alessi was highly innovative from the start and quickly developed into what many today call “the dream factory of Italian design.” Over the years, it has turned out objects created by historic and renowned designers, including Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper, Stefano Giovannoni, Achille Castiglioni and Alessandro Mendini, who also functions as a design consultant.
The company currently employs about 500 people. The metal presswork division produces about 7,500 items a day, which are exported to some 60 countries.
In recent years, Alessi has entered into collaborations with other companies “in an effort to give life to new objects characterized by that mix of eccentricity and style, playfulness and culture, irony and elegance which has become synonymous with the Alessi name,” says Gaia.
The transition from early mechanical production to a research and development workshop operating in the applied arts was the dream of the Alessi family. A look at the company’s current line of products clearly shows that the dream has come true.
PHOTOS: Alessi
Gaia Di Palma E-mail: g.dipalma@dipalmassociati.com Website: www.alessi.com |
