Architect Emanuela Frattini Magnusson, AIA, has launched a new venture as an online furniture retailer. “As an architect and specifier of furniture, I noticed that side tables were an under-served category,” says Magnusson, principal of New York City-based EFM Design. The focus of Articolo, as her new company is called, “is filling this niche.”
To give contemporary expression to a decidedly utilitarian function, Magnusson recruited an impressive roster of A-list designers from around the world. Welsh-born industrial designer Ross Lovegrove and architects Hans-Jörg Ruch, of Switzerland, and Neil P. Frankel, FAIA, FIIDA, of the United States, have contributed designs to the Articolo catalog, as has Magnusson’s father, Italian architect and designer Gianfranco Frattini.
The current collection includes 29 designs—13 by Magnusson—crafted from wood, metal, leather, and Murano glass. Each table is individually numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity. All are available exclusively at www.articolo.com, with free shipping in the continental U.S. Although the tables are manufactured in Europe, most are stocked in the States for quick delivery.
Together, the table designs are “rooted in a shared modernist aesthetic, although each piece has its own cultural content” as well, Magnusson says. “We believe this results in a diverse, yet cohesive collection.” Look for more diversity this fall, when Articolo adds products by Italian designer Alberto Meda and German-born designer André Klauser.