Jun.

20

Top 10: Gio Ponti

Lacquered-birch Easy Lounge Chairs for Cassina, 1950s

Last year I was blessed to spend two weeks in Italy and I am so obsessed with everything Italian right now, you just have no idea. One of my favorite discoveries was the work of Gio Ponti. Gio Ponti was an Italian architect and designer who not only designed Milan’s first skyscraper, the 30-story Pirelli Building, but he also founded the design and architecture magazine Domus that we often see displayed so prominently in tastemaker’s offices. By now you know that I lean toward a less is more design aesthetic, so of course I fell in love with how modern and structural Signore Ponti’s collective works were and the fact that he designed for over 60 years means that I have alot to learn and to keep me busy researching on weekends.

But what I do know now is that Signore Ponti designed everything from opera costumes to flatware to cars to espresso machines, but is most revered for his furniture, so I thought I would share my top ten favorites with you. Pay attention to these designs and the next time you go furniture shopping notice Signore Ponti’s influences on the furniture being produced today. Everything old is new again.

Hand-blown Venini Morandiane glass decanter