Minotti: A Restrained Beauty
With a history of just over 70 years, Italian luxury brand Minotti has evolved into a major player in the world of contemporary modern furniture. The designer-driven manufacturer is recognized for a powerful yet restrained collection that exudes glamour and sophistication. This brand features prominently in elite architectural homes around the world, commercial projects, and design publications.
Minotti Gilbert corner elements & Calder table
Family owned and operated, this globally renowned company had a surprisingly humble start. In 1948 Alberto Minotti opened a small wood shop in Meda, Italy between Milan and Lake Como. In postwar Italy, this region became home to many ambitious artisans whose focus was to make elegant furniture for rich Milanese industrialists that lived between the city and their lakeside estates. By the 1960s many furniture makers in the region began to expand the traditional craft of woodworking and upholstery into a fully developed industry. Modern technologies allowed for creative expansion leading to an explosion of iconic pieces of authored design. While competing brand Cassina was launching its “I Maestri” collection with designers such as Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier, Minotti took a more cautious approach. Staying close to home, Alberto aligned himself with a local architect named Radice. An under recognized talent with forward thinking vision and highly accomplished in his craft, Radice created some of the first signed pieces in the collection. He later went on to build the Minotti family home and factory right across the street from one another. The family and the brand are closely linked to this day.
For details, visit our Minotti collection
The Minotti Brothers take on the furniture world
Alberto’s sons Renato and Roberto followed in their father’s footsteps and were a key part of the company’s growth. When Alberto passed away in 1991, the two sons continued their father’s uncompromising design and production techniques while expanding and redefining the identity of the brand. According to Roberto, the “alchemy” of the brand is in its ability to “take a craftsman’s approach to industry.”
How Minotti Grew
Until the mid-1990s the Minotti brand had a quiet presence that was defined by understated exclusivity. The brand had not yet aligned itself with the world of cutting edge design, which had been dominating in global markets. Seeing the writing on the wall, the next generation of Minotti’s took steps to elevate and expose the brand. In 1996, ‘Minotti Studio’ was formed to be an in-house creative studio that controls all aspects of the business from product development to marketing and even graphic design. A few years later in 1998 the brothers hired the well-established Milan-based architect and designer Rudolfo Dordoni as its art director. In this role, Dordoni not only designs furniture, he curates all aspects of the brand. This unified approach has been very successful. Dordoni understood and developed the timeless understated luxury that defines the brand. He believed that the era of individual iconic objects was waning. “Extremely designed objects are still icons,” he explains, “but they’re not as autonomous as they once were. In the past, you could put a fashionable design object in a house where it didn’t strike up a conversation with anything else. Now that’s happening less.”
Catlin dining table
The Minotti brand has come to represent a lifestyle more than singular pieces of furniture like this suede ottoman from Minotti. The individual pieces, while striking, do not cry out for attention. One is simply enveloped in the luxurious, intelligent and sexy feeling of Minotti. Thirty-three retail locations later, Minotti has come to challenge its competitors worldwide and define a coveted lifestyle.
They maintain dedication to Minotti's Italian quality
The quality and beauty of Minotti furniture follow along with Italy’s long and romantic tradition of fine craftsmanship. It uses talented artisans as a final step in production, ensuring each piece is made with the utmost care for a look no industrial-made product can duplicate. This careful balance of industrial and hand-worked construction is backed with the company’s ever-expanding knowledge of world design and construction techniques to ensure the “Made in Italy” status remains unparalleled.
Modern Resale Client Inspo - Rivera outdoor sofa set, Richards armchairs
Minotti’s focus on excellence extends throughout the company, adopting something they call the ‘Minotti Code.” It stands for “innovation in the spirit of continuity.” At the center of the code is the Minotti Studio - the home of the design process. Here the company undergoes intensive research into technology and global design, blending visual cues and manufacturing processes and gaining a deeper understanding of a wide range of cultures, design senses, and materials. The design team continuously travels the world, refining its aesthetic and working with outside architects and designers to ensure it is always at the forefront of modern design.
Like fine Italian clothing, the furniture’s balance of materials, design, and craftsmanship bring a refined appearance that stands the test of time. This attention to detail captivates the eye and invites us in. Once there, we enjoy the deeper beauty and luxurious comfort for an enriched living experience.
Modern Resale Client Inspo - Andersen sectional
Minotti, a brand fit for the silver screen
Minotti has been featured in movies. Fifty Shades Darker used the Seymour Collection, can you spot any of Minotti's Furniture in your favorite movies?