Kartell is due to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year. Renowned for its collaborations with international designers and the creation of a vast number of iconic interior products, Kartell is at the top of both the furniture and labware industries.

The company was founded in 1949 by Giulio Castelli, a chemical engineer who graduated gaining the ‘Nobel Natta Award’. He started off producing plastic articles: initially car accessories, then later turning to household goods, lamps and laboratory articles. The articles produced comply with two challenges pursued by the Company: ‘to introduce plastic to the home’ and to replace glass with plastics in the case of laboratory equipment.

The 60′s proved to be a successful period for Kartell, who continued to explore the versatility of plastics and to redefine the shapes and functions of its articles. In the 1980′s Kartell supported the labware sector with the slogan ‘Plastics like science’.

In 1988 Kartell was taken over by Claudio Luti as the company’s owner and chairman. In the 1990′s, the company really began to be recognised after the collaboration and contribution of international designers such as Ron Arad, Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Phillippe Starck. Advances in technology, and the focus on the versatility of plastics pushed the company to the top of their game.

Since 2006 Lorenza Luti took over as Marketing and Retail Director. Since then sales have nearly doubled. Kartell now has 120 flagship stores and 100 additional retail shops. The products are distributed in 96 countries throughout the world, with more than 4000 points of sale.

Products include:

‘Louis Ghost Armchair

Designer: Philippe Starck

Armchair in transparent and coloured polycarbonate in the Louis XV style. It is stable, durable, shock, scratch and weather resistant. The design has a touch of irony due to the fact that the chair’s silhouette is very similar to the traditional designs of the  Louis XV era, however the material it has been manufactured in gives the chair a completely unique and contemporary edge.

‘Bookworm’

Designer: Ron Arad
Bookworm, the flexible bookself. The bookworm assumes any desired shape, without compromising toughness and functionality. Made entirely from batch-dyed fire retardant PVC, It is available in three different lengths and a variety of colours. It allows a load of 10kg for each support.

‘Bourgie Table Lamp’

Designer-Ferruccio Laviani
The baroque table lamp is made entirely of transparent or batch dyed polycarbonate. The quality of the material is extremely high. The product has the resemblance of a precious crystal lamp, but is far more durable.

The lamp has a choice of height setting and is available in a variety of matt and transparent colours.

For local stockists visit:

www.kartell.it