At a time when many family-run enterprises start showing their cracks, Artefacto is forging ahead and bucking that curse. This summer, the Brazilian furniture manufacturer is entering its third generation and celebrating its 50th anniversary in business with a new collection that highlights the company’s commitment to form, technique, and function. Titled Cosmos, the 17-piece line comes from Creative Director Patricia Anastassiadis, who was inspired by, as she puts it, “what orbits and propels Artefacto’s ever-expanding universe.”
Those interstellar qualities are obvious in the collection’s names and silhouettes. The Solar System is composed of various modules that can stand alone or form a circular composition within a living space. The Gali side table was named for Galileo and features a metal top that, from afar, suggests organic veining. The Nebula buffet tricks the eye with a recessed base that creates the illusion of floating, just like the massive cloud system from which it gets its name. Common to the pieces is stone, which appears in multiple finishes, and the collection’s palette is heavy on shades of amber, orange, and violet, echoing the chromatic references we often see in the imagery of distant atmospheres.
The theme of Cosmos is a fitting one to celebrate Artefacto’s debut in 1976, a monumental year for space exploration that saw the first and second spacecraft landings on Mars and the unveiling of the first space shuttle, Enterprise. As NASA made these strides, Albino Bacchi introduced Artefacto in São Paulo with a visionary collection of renewable natural fiber pieces long before there were notions of sustainability and eco consciousness. Five decades later, Artefacto is a behemoth in the design industry with 18 showrooms in Brazil and five in the U.S., including a 40,000-square-foot flagship in Coral Gables, as well as expanded operations that include home staging services and real estate development.
These last few years have seen some major changes. After Albino retired in 2015, his son, Paulo, took charge of the company as CEO. Four years later, he brought his own sons, twins Pietro and Bruno, aboard. Together, the three men represent Artefacto’s second and third generations, a fact they don’t take lightly.
“We work very hard at getting it right,” says Bruno. “It’s a unique family dynamic because we all share a sense of adventure and passion.”
As for what’s ahead? “It’s an incredible source of pride to carry forward a brand my grandfather started 50 years ago, while celebrating this iconic new collection,” says Pietro. “Going forward, we will continue to explore ways to stay ahead of the industry.”
Story Credits:
Text by Christopher Day
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