Alessi Ufficio Tecnico Alessi Citrus Basket, 22 cm, Steel

Ufficio Tecnico Alessi

Alessi

Designer: Ufficio Tecnico Alessi

Ufficio Tecnico Alessi Collection

On a personal level, these objects are part of my childhood memories: I always saw them used in my parents’ house. On a professional level, the “normalcy” of these household objects has always struck me. They weren’t just “normal” in the sense that they were used everyday at home. They were examples of an era of the consumer society which was destined to disappear quickly: a time I’d call pre-design, prior to the phenomenon of Designer goods in all of our homes. Of course, in a way, they were designed too. That is to say, they were designed by: my dad (Carlo Alessi) or still earlier, by the technicians of the product development office (a.k.a “UTA”, “Ufficio Tecnico Alessi”)

The company

Founded in 1921 as a “Workshop for the processing of brass and nickel silver sheet metal, with foundry”, Alessi has always stood out for the high quality of its products.

In almost a century of history, the company has gradually evolved to become one of the leading “Factories of Italian design”, capable of applying its expertise and excellence in design management to many different product types.

Open to change and international development, Alessi at the same time has a strong bond with the traditions and cultural background of its area and continues to be synonymous with handcrafted objects produced with the help of machines.

Alessigraphy: the geography of Alessi production

Since the Company’s Foundation in 1921 the Majority of Alessi Products have Been Manufactured through the Cold Working of Metals, a Tradition that is Kept Alive Today by the Skilled Workers at the Crusinallo Plant in Omegna.

Over time, Alessi also began to work with many other materials, such as porcelain, glass, wood, and plastic. A specific production method was developed for each one. Even when production takes place outside the Crusinallo plant, Alessi’s guidelines ensure the company’s original production quality standards, continuing to reconcile industrial technological complexity with an artisanal eye for detail.

The objects produced from the different materials are manufactured in various production plants across the world. They remain original Alessi objects in that they are conceived with the same design excellence and produced with the same attention to quality that sets the company’s products apart.