Friuli-based Potocco presents its first line of carpets and new furniture pieces. While at the fair, we spoke with Mariana Potocco, Global Brand Manager and 5th generation of the family business.
June 7, 2022—As Salone del Mobile celebrates its 60th anniversary, the 5th generation of the family-run Italian company Potocco, whose founder also co-founded Salone del Mobile, reveals its first-ever line of indoor and outdoor carpets along with a number of beautifully crafted furniture pieces.
Founded in 1919, the company exemplifies the legacy of the region from which it hails. Based in the city of Manzano, one in three cities of the Friuli region which create what is known as “The Triangle of the Chair”, Potocco was one of the first furniture companies in the industry. The region is the chair-making capital of Europe where the artisans are responsible for approximately 80% of the chairs supplied to Italy and 50% of the chairs sold to the entire European region, according to ITALYbyWEB in 2017. Yet, 5th-gen Mariana Potocco has seen the brand flourish from its table and chairs era to today’s lifestyle focus. She recalled how, when she was a child, her father explained the future of the brand if she chose to follow in the family’s footsteps.
“My earliest memory is that of three years old when I went around the factory with my father, speaking with employees in the office and the production department,” Mariana Potocco said in an interview with ArchiExpo e-Magazine. “My father told me about the machines and the hand-making processes. He said one day if I wanted, I could work here and everything would be different but the family would be there, emphasizing the company needed to remain a family business because love comes from family. Every time I visit the factory, I recall his words.”
“Every time I visit the factory, I recall his words.”
Indeed, the brand has evolved since its earlier years. With Mariana’s involvement came the lifestyle focus, a way not only to grow the brand image but to assist clients by developing a Potocco atmosphere in which materials and products match perfectly and can complete an entire space. At the fair, Potocco exhibited its indoor and outdoor lifestyles which include several new pieces and its first-ever line of carpets.
“The project of producing our first carpets lasted three years. We tested the materials used to make the outdoor carpets for an entire year, making adjustments accordingly.”
The Clue Carpets designed by Chiara Andreatti are the first carpets made by Potocco. They are fabricated by braiding polypropylene yarn with different contrasts, sewn together with a vertical and concentric gait, creating unprecedented circular graphics. From green and blue to classic gray and beige, the rectangular-shaped carpets mix with the round ones in a game of shapes suitable for the most diverse furnishing contexts and are available in different shades.
The hand-framed polypropylene yarn with which they are made is a hi-tech material with low environmental impact and is 100% recyclable. Dyed using a special UV protector and antioxidants, these carpets are resistant to external agents such as sunlight, chlorine and stains. The technology and the study of materials, typical of the Friulian company, once again follow aesthetics, ensuring high permeability and breathability and making Clue Carpets perfectly suitable for outdoor environments.
Two new outdoor furniture pieces exhibited by Potocco at the fair are ALYZA and the Ola tub chair. Mario Ferrarini Studio designed the ALYZA chair and armchair made with a structure in embossed metal rod, painted with epoxy powders for outdoors, while the seat cushion is in self-skinning integral polyurethane. Collection finishes. The Ola tub chair, designed by Radice Orlandini, is characterized by the shape of the enveloping backrest, in a metal rod, which recalls the fluid image of waves. The structure in the powder-coated metal rod for outdoor use is entirely hand-woven in Fly ribbon. The legs are painted AISI 316 stainless steel. The seat cushion, removable and detachable, is padded with fire retardant polyurethane foam. The underlining is waterproof with sealed seams and final lining in the outdoor coverings available as per collection.
On display for the indoors, the new products for 2022 include the Elodie lounge chair and the Gambit indoor carpets by Chiara Andreatti, the carpets contain three different bas relief geometric patterns, and are entirely hand-framed and made of viscose and wool yarn. Other new pieces are the Hiru chair and armchair by Mario Ferrarini Studio, Keel Light seating by Mario Ferrarini and Viktor Vasilev, the Scheggia armchair and the Velis seating collection by Mario Ferrarini Studio and the Yoisho sofa by Bernhardt & Vella.
Potocco has over 100 years of experience, passed down from generations, resulting in eye-catching quality products worth noting. This year has been simply another innovative stretch in the company’s historical threads.
