Catellani e Smith

Carlo Catellani was born in Parma on 27.3.1960. In 1973 he graduated from Junior High School and after 2 years of professional school he started his career as a blacksmith by working as an apprentice in a workshop in Fornovo. Logan Smith was born in Notting Hill (London) on 12.6.1931. He graduated in Architecture from Cambridge on 19.9.1954. He loved the world of horses and specialized in the renovation of race tracks and horse clubs. In 1981 he produced his greatest project, the “Tambourine Bluefran Horses Club” in Kentucky. He always steered clear of design. Then the two met at Minorca (Baleari Islands) in the Summer of 1985 for the “Gin Votaries International Meeting” and the extraordinary euphoria of those evenings gave rise to the idea of designing and producing decorative lamps and everyday objects. Their non-conformist minds choose a path of tranquility that is almost bucolic and is typical of those who have lived far away from managerial stress and turnover pressures. This path evokes a pre-industrial past and takes us back to products crafted with the hands and the mind". This biographical note printed in the first catalogue was used throughout the world and the story was successful because it is plainly fictitious. Starting from the name: Catellani’s name is Enzo, Carlo is his father. Logan Smith is not an architect but Enzo Catellani’s race horse. The idea of printing a fictitious biography is a provocation that perfectly describes the ironic attitude of Enzo Catellani towards the self-referential world of a certain kind of design.