Romano Marcato
Romano Marcato was born in 1951,
in Cadoneghe, a few kilometres
from Padua. In 1970, he obtained
a high-school diploma from the
Istituto Tecnico Industriale of Padua,
specialising in mechanical engineering.
From 1970 to 1978, he was in
charge of design at a leading small
metal parts industry and designed
high-speed cutting dies for electric
terminals.
Thanks to his extensive knowledge
of precision engineering and complex
high-speed production systems,
Romano Marcato designed automatic
machines and systems for the
automotive and electronics industries.
In 1979, with his brother Dario, he
founded the company Lapalma, and
with his distinct personal flair and
expertise in using metals, he designed
the first products and oversaw the
technical processes.
For many years, Romano Marcato
has been choosing designers with
whom to collaborate and overseeing
the development and project
engineering of all products, even
the most futuristic, thanks to his
thirty years of experience and to his
technical knowledge that drives him to
customise individual machines.
He has also designed some of the
most popular objects in the Lapalma
collection, including the BRUNCH
and PANCO tables, the WIL stool, the
BRIO and YO small tables and the
ARIA chair.
Pio & Tito Toso
The two brothers were born in Venice
in 1971 and 1973. They graduated
in architecture in Venice in 1998.
In 1996, they opened the design
studio PIO&TITOTOSO design. They
work in the field of architecture,
implementing many projects both
nationally and internationally, and
participate in various competitions.
They also collaborate in the furniture
and design world, working with
the most prestigious companies,
including: Artemide, iGuzzini,
Foscarini, Leucos, Venini and Vistosi
for lighting, and Alessi, Pedrali,
Colombo design, Guzzini, Metalco
and Segis for furniture. They design
stands, exhibitions, stores, offices and
warehouses for various companies,
taking care of their image and
graphics. They have received the
following awards: Red Dot Design
Award 2017, Index Compasso d'Oro
2016, Design Plus 2016, Selezione al
Compasso d'Oro Internazionale 2015,
Red Dot Design Award 2015, Red Dot
Design Award 2012, Good Design
Award 2009, Selezione I.Dot 2006-
2007, Young & design 2005. They
have also taken part in exhibitions in
Europe and the USA.
Shin Azumi
Shin Azumi was born in Kobe, Japan
in 1965. After finishing his MA at
the Royal College of Art in 1994,
he started working as a design unit
‘AZUMI’. In 2005, he established his
own office ‘a studio’ in London, and
he moved his base back to Japan in
Tokyo in 2016. Currently he is taking
the professorship at Hosei University,
faculty of engineering and design in
Japan. The clients list of ‘a studio’
includes lapalma, Magis, Desalto,
Fredericia, Tefal, Authentics and
many other international brands. Shin
Azumi’s work has received numerous
design awards in Europe and in
Japan, amongst which the Blueprint
100% Design Award and “Product of
the Year” of FX International Design
Award. He also took part in the jury
of numerous design awards such
as, IF Design Award (DE). His works
were acquired by many international
museums such as Victoria & Albert
Museum (UK), Stedelijk Museum
(Holland), etc.
Tomoya Tabuchi
Tomoya Tabuchi, born 1974 in Tochigi,
Japan, graduated in living design at
Kuwasawa Design School in 1997.
After working at Japanese furniture
firm on the planning, designing
original products, developing products
designed by overseas designers,
he became independent in 2010.
In 2011, Tee table was debuted
from Interiors (Japanese firm) as his
first design after independence. His
activity includes designed products,
graphic design and art direction. He
has received Premio Vico Magistretti,
shortlist for prize (2007), ELLE DÉCOR
Young Japanese Design Talent (2012),
Good Design Award (2014), Architizer
A+Awards (2016).He is collaborating
with Lapalma, Viccarbe, Systemtronic,
Interiors, and others.
Tomoko Azumi
Tomoko Azumi (born in 1966,
Hiroshima, Japan) is an interior and
furniture designer based in London.
She studied architecture and interior
design at Kyoto City University of
Art, worked in architectural studio
in Tokyo, then moved to London in
1992. She finished a master course
of Furniture Design at the Royal
College of Art in 1995. After her
activities as a partnership AZUMI
(1995-2004), she started her own
practice TNA Design Studio in East
London in 2005. At TNA Design
Studio, her main fields are furniture,
lighting products, interior design and
exhibition space design. She has
been collaborating with international
clients such as Benchmark Furniture
(UK) , Lapalma (Italy), Maxray (Japan),
Röthlisberger (Switzerland) and
Swarovski (Austria), as well as interior
design for The Supreme Court of
United Kingdom, shops for Harrys of
London and exhibition designs for the
Crafts Council (UK). Her works are in
several permanent collections include
Victoria & Albert Museum and Geoffrey
Museum in London and Stedelijk
Museum (Netherlands). She has
been a project teacher at the Design
Products of Royal College of Art since
2005 and a research fellow at London
Metropolitan University from 2006 to
2009. Also she is a member of jury
for Good Design Award in Japan since
2006 and member of selection board
for 100% Design London in 2010
and a member of jury for imm Design
Award at the Cologne Furniture Fair on
2010 and 2011.
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