Nestled at the bottom of the Italian Alps, on the outskirts of Bergamo, the premium design company Pedrali certainly chose a lovely place for their headquarters and factory. We were invited to visit the factory and happily accepted the offer to learn more about their processes and their brand.

Pedrali has a long history of aluminium and plastic furniture but in the last ten years have also focussed on timber products to broaden their range and respond to demand. Simple, sturdy and 100% italian, the Pedrali furniture range is aimed mainly at commercial projects and therefore very much appreciated by architects and designers around the world. Some of their furniture can be seen in places such as the Dorchester Hotel in London, Google offices and Van Cleef & Arpels stores. Created by designers such as Patrick Jouin, Enrico Franzolini and Marc Sadler, the collection has a very friendly feel in terms of shape and finishes whilst the form remains simple and functional.

The brand brand feels fresh and inventive through great branding and advertising without forgetting the past 50 years of history. As explained to us by Monica Pedrali (Sales and Marketing Director), the company understands that to go forward they need to keep on innovating, using materials, production processes and technology. This helps the company to keep moving and be future focussed. We certainly felt and witnessed this thoughout our entire day with them.

Our trip started in the showroom. The bright and airy space is a perfect place to examine the Pedrali range in all its glory. We enjoyed learning more on the story behind some of the products and looking at the vast colour and finish options.

We then went on to visit the factory where we observed injection moulding, aluminium bending, laser cutting and soldering. We excitingly witnessed a series of Blitz polycarbonate chairs coming out of their mould, left to cool, then finished by hand and packaged. This was especially useful for us, as designers, we sometimes forget about the productions techniques, timings and worforce involved to create a stuning piece of funiture. We also loved watching Nolita chairs slowly entering a powder coating machine and coming out in a glowing yellow colour, like magic! As well as producing all the furniture in house, Pedrali also tries to cut time on the deliveries by packaging all their products themselves. The cardboard box machine was impressive!

All in all we understood the way Pedrali innovates whilst keeping it’s production entirely in Italy, capturing the essence of Italian design. We also sensed a passion for perfection and constant renewal which has most definitely been passed down the generations by its founder.

Our day finished with a tour of old Bergamo and dinner in an authentic Italian restaurant. What a lovely way to discover more about pure Italian design!

With a special thank you to Nicoletta who was a lovely host.
www.pedrali.it

Written by our Senior Interior Architect – Celine Hayman