Brass & Walnut Cupboard by Antonio Aricò for Editamateria
  The Exceptional

Antonio Aricò was born into a large and close-knit family of woodworkers in the town of Reggio in the Calabria region of Italy in 1983. After graduating from the Politecnico di Milano with a degree in Industrial Design in 2008 and taking a postgraduate course in Industrial Design at Alta Scuola Politecnica in Turin, Aricò studied Metal & Jewelry Design at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Scotland, Product Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, and Traditional Furniture Design at the Centro Escuela de la Madera in Spain.

In 2011, he launched his own studio, based in both Milan and Reggio, dedicated to a practice that integrates the traditional artisanal methods of Southern Italy with the high-concept approaches that characterize the most editorially successful work of contemporary design. His career took off following his 2012 FuoriSalone exhibition Back Home, which featured a limited-edition collection of hand-hewn wood furniture and objects produced in collaboration with his grandfather and uncle. Since then, Aricò has received several commissions from major Italian brands, including Barilla Group, Seletti, and Alessi.

Aricò’s work has been widely exhibited at design venues around the world, such as DMY in Berlin, Maison & Objet in Paris, Design Centrum Kielce in Poland, L’Église in Turin. A number of high-profile design tastemakers—Li Edelkoort, Rossana Orlandi, Maria Cristian Didero, Silvana Annicchiarico, and Andrea Branzi—have recognized his work as among the best out there today. 

Aricò’s standout designs to date include Watering Kettle Cans (2011), the Dumba Chair (2012), the Swing Chair for the Wabi Sabi: Slow Italian Design exhibition in Turin (2012), the Tasty Chair and olive oil accessories for Padiglione Italia (2013), Blowing Man glass objects for Editamateria (2015), Still Alive storage vessels for Saletti (2015), Australian Shells handmade ceramic dinnerware (2015), and the Petite Mariée collection of wedding gifts for Alessi (2016).

Antonio continues to work side-by-side with his grandfather, Saverio Zaminga, while also seeking out new ventures and partnerships around the world that will embrace his simple yet rigorous design thinking, as well as his spontaneous and enthusiastic solutions to creating everyday objects with high quality materials and an intense attention to detail.

* Product images courtesy of Antonio Aricò

Founded in 2014, Editamateria is a brand, as well as an organization that houses various projects involving designers with a shared passion for handicraft.

Shortly after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1997, Silvia Ariemma, founder and creative director of Editamateria started working in the art sphere. In her early career, she collaborated with painter Daniele Galliano to work on his exhibitions and other events. Since 2011, her research has been dedicated to contemporary design, with a focus on craft. Ariemma co-curated the exhibition Wabi Sabi, Italian slow design, which was presented in Turin during the Torino Design Week in 2012 and at the Galleria Paola Colombari in Milan during the Salone del Mobile in 2013. Ariemma also participated at Design Miami/Basel in 2013, in collaboration with Galleria Antonella Villanova from Florence.

Thanks to Ariemma’s wide circle of acquaintances, Editamateria has collaborated with a number of contemporary designers and makers over the years. In March 2015, Editamateria was invited to take part in the conference Food for Thought, co-organized by the Holon Design Museum, the Italy-Israel Design Forum, the Embassy of Italy in Israel, the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce, the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Cultural Institute. During the conference, Editamateria’s exhibition Liquid Glass was held in the Museum’s Material Library.