SELETTI SURREALISM
Ever since Seletti was first founded in 1964, their mission has been to link design with pop art. Its collections of furniture and other things for the home show the humoristic side of everyday life, adding a distinct sense of surrealism to the world of interiors.
The brand was founded by Romano Seletti in Ciognara, Mantova.
Originally, the intent was to import homeware products from China.
Today, is it run by Romano’s son Stefano Seletti.
Stefano Seletti began following his father on his travels already when he was 17, in the late 1980s.
They travelled to China together, and the attentive Stefano would see the progress of the world in-between their trips. Bicycles being replaced by cars; anxious drivers honking their horns, only to be silent during his next visit (as they had learned how to drive).
In China, he not only learned business and the long history of Arts and Crafts, but also witnessed the rapid development in the world of technology and innovation.
They travelled for 40 days, visiting India, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam, learning about different cultures and finding inspiration for new products and projects.
The collection “Estetico quotidiano” was Seletti’s turning point, leading the company from large-scale trade to innovative interior design.
For inspiration, Stefano Seletti took an object that already existed –plastic coffee cups, pastry paper trays – to a porcelain factory, and asked them to reproduce these generic shapes, otherwise associated with disposable objects with little value.
This was the birth of the company’s “Art de la table”; objects that would fit perfect in curated lifestyle shops like Colette or Dover Street Market.
In the world of design, Seletti is a well-known brand, though more of a maverick or a trickster than a stable giant.
Many of their ideas come from lateral thinking, where they find the solution by taking an unexpected route.
As Seletti once summarized, “creativity is essentially innovation. You always have to do something that no one has ever done before.”
In 2010, Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari founded art magazine Toilet Paper, and four years later, the magazine began collaborating with Seletti.
Since then, the creative partnership has resulted in a series of some of Seletti’s most bold and funny pieces.
Images from Seletti’s store in Milan, Corso Garibalidi 117.