Christmas 2024: time for designer gifts

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Venini, Clessidre Sommerse

Objects that defy the laws of physics, that interpret tradition in a contemporary key and convey a philosophical message

Design affects every aspect of our lives, today more than ever. In Italy, above all, where according to the recent Design Economy 2024 study, issued by the Symbola Foundation, Deloitte Private, Poli.Design and ADI, the sector employs 63,485 people, generating an added value of €3.1 billion. But in everyday life, too, design products by definition combine aesthetics with function.

As Christmas 2024 approaches, why not think about a designer gift? We have selected 10 sustainable ideas for you to discover and that will help you live better. Others of them are treats to indulge in and alleviate the frenzy of everyday life.

nanimarquina created its carpet brand in 1987 with a clear aim: to design amazing handmade carpets that everyone can enjoy, made by craftworkers from countries that add a cultural value to their creations. The rugs in the Wabisabi collection are inspired by the essence of Wabisabi, a traditional Japanese concept, the acceptance and contemplation of imperfection, the constant flow (the incomplete) and the impermanence of things. Woven by hand from cruelty-free New Zealand wool on horizontal looms, they are a gift to think about.

The four mirrors of the Menteur collection are designed by Philippe Starck for Glas Italia. Made out of a single sheet of extra-clear glass curved around its whole perimeter thanks to innovative and complex fabrication techniques, and manually silvered to perfection, they reflect curiously distorted images. Depending on the silvered face, this produces a mirror having a concave or convex surface, with a frame that stretches the images in the concave version and compresses them in the convex one. The perfectly flat area in the middle offers a faithful reflection and functional use.

When functionality is interpreted in a stylistic synthesis, it gives rise to unique objects. This is the case with the Segno umbrella stand designed by Leonardo Talarico for Living Divani. A fascinating object by its simplicity conceived with a line that constitutes the object on the conceptual level while paring away the material. An object of everyday use that is a constant invitation to reflect on the essence.

A painting is forever, especially if it is contemporary. Novocuadro Art Company works with more than 30 artists, supporting established and emerging painters, representing a range of different styles and techniques. In the Spring 2024 collection, it presents Dark Planet I & II, an original work by Jaime Jurado presented on wood measuring 120 x 90 cm treated without glass. This work will become an eye-catching feature, giving depth and breadth to even a minimal living space.

Part coat stand, part sculpture, for over fifty years Cactus has fascinated the public to a design by Franco Mello and Guido Drocco in 1972 and produced by Gufram. Significantly it has also been interpreted by Paul Smith and Maurizio Cattelan, among others. Gufram, with the CACTUS®: Invisible Spectrum collection, is inspired by the wavelength range of light. CACTUS® Ultraviolet is placed at the beginning of the Gufram spectrum: its shade enriches any space by stimulating the imagination and intuition.

G01_Nanimarquina_wabisabi — nanimaarquina, rug from the Wabisabi collection, designed by nanimarquina

G02_Glas-Italia_Menteur — Glas Italia, Menteur mirror, designed by Philippe Starck

G03_Living_Divani_Segno — Living Divani, Segno umbrella stand, designed by Leonardo Talarico

G04_Nuovocuadro_Dark_planer — Novocuadro Art Company, Dark Planet I & II, Jaime Jurado

G05_Gufram_Cactus-Ultraviolet — Gufram, CACTUS® Ultraviolet, designed by Franco Mello and Guido Drocco

Eating is a primary need, and an elegantly laid table brings serenity and joy to this function. This is why Missoni Home Collection pays so much attention to mise-en-place: in the Nastri Tableware collection, the play of interlacing lines envelops all the items. The single-color pattern in shades of burgundy is embellished with a gold outline that enhances its beauty.

Founded in 1824, Vista Alegre is celebrating two centuries of activity by becoming a global luxury brand. It currently produces high-quality porcelain tableware, decorative porcelain, giftware, hospitality objects, glassware and crystal. The Dalea table lamp designed by Ross Lovegrove is inspired by the logic and beauty of nature and embodies a profound transformation in the physicality of our three-dimensional world by offering a refined and elegant projection.

The hourglass is an object with a mysterious fascination: Venini enriches the collection designed by Fulvio Bianconi and Paolo Venini with the new Clessidre Sommerse series: here the submerged glass envelopes and encloses the two bulbs that house the grains that flow through the neck. In a way suspended between past and present, the new Clessidre Sommerse are a gift that, like timeless jewels, narrate the relentless passing of time.

The Mimosa family of accessories designed by Ionna Vautrin for S-Cab is devised to showcase the plants in our living spaces. As if suspended in levitation, these rounded supports accommodate floral compositions or ornamental plants, while the sinuous tube connecting the trays evokes the idea of a root or rhizome with a line. Graphic and colorful, these plant holders can be set in a corner, on the floor against a wall or mounted on a wall: a gift that expresses tenderness and hospitality.

Finally, a lamp that has written an important page in the history of design and is also a work of art: Samba-M, designed by Shiro Kuramata and re-purposed by Ambientec Corporation, a Japanese brand of sophisticated portable lamps, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the death of the Tokyo-based designer. Created for the Tamura Joe gallery under the supervision of the Kuramata Design Office, it is accompanied by an interesting anecdote. In 1988, during the vernissage for the In-Spiration exhibition, Kuramata surprised guests - including Ron Arad and Zaha Hadid, then still unknown to the general public - by introducing a red light in his glass of champagne so that, alone among them all, it appeared colorful. It was not a divertissement for its own sake. Shiro Kuramata wanted to show the attractive power of design, when it creates a correlation between artistic vision and an object. The current version is a thin, double-layered wine glass that, integrated with the most advanced LED technologies, simply lights up tinged with red when brushed with a fingertip.