MAKERS | EUROPE | ITALY | WOODWORK
Ebanisteria Marelli | Woodworkers
Until just a few decades ago, workshops making decorative wooden mouldings were not hard to find. Scattered across the country, alongside the craftsmen’s workshops they supplied, they produced all the small, delicate pieces that went into the finished product – furniture, bedheads, frames and wall panelling. Gradually, however, they began to disappear. Today, wherever you speak to people in Italy, there is one name that invariably comes up as the surviving supplier, and one that is consequently held in high regard: Ebanisteria Marelli. And yet, for the last remaining example of its kind, this small family business is thriving. Its only problem is finding it hard to keep up with the orders. Stefano Marelli explains how things have changed.
How did you begin?
My grandfather was a woodturner, and my father joined the workshop when he was still very young. He benefited from the economic boom of the post-war years, which saw the rise of the furniture industry, particularly in northern Italy. In Brianza, as in the Veneto, there were small manufacturers producing traditional-style furniture, but volumes were growing, driven both by demand at home and by exports.
My father had the idea of moving away from woodturning – a more competitive field, given the number of established specialists in the area – and instead focusing on making pieces that could support the craftsmen: solid-wood mouldings designed to complement classic furniture. The business did well from the outset, so the next step was for my father to acquire a number of heat presses.
Using heated rollers, these machines imprint a pattern into the wood, creating a subtle raised effect. The original idea for the machine and its applications had come from Germany, where it was used exclusively for highly industrial processes. My father saw an opportunity to create a hybrid: a machine that could support craftsmen without taking away the creative, hands-on element of their work. Unlike its German predecessor, which had inspired it, this new machine still depended on “human ingenuity”: it was a tool, rather than a replacement for the craftsman.
How did you learn?
We are now in our fourth generation, and we feel it is important to preserve the ‘family business’ aspect. That said, we are investing heavily in young people and their training… including helping them to understand the timeless quality of what we do.
How do you plan, prepare and create your works?
The first step is to straighten the timber and ensure it is completely flat and even. The second step is to shape the piece, giving it the appropriate curvature for the chosen design. Before carving the pieces using the machine, the blades are prepared and a test run is carried out.
It’s a quick process, with the carving stage being the most demanding. It’s therefore essential that the various departments communicate with one another and coordinate to ensure things proceed as smoothly as possible, as each of the three stages is carried out by a different person. We don’t do any finishing work, which makes our lives a lot easier.
Who or what most inspires you?
In general, ours is a very classical craft, almost timeless. The dentil, the Greek key, the acanthus leaf: these are all decorative motifs drawn from the ancient world, part of the history of humanity, forms we are deeply familiar with. The specific patterns were taken from historical catalogues and then reworked, perhaps developing variations on the best-known or most popular reliefs.
And these modifications are still being made. We follow the work of designers to understand what might be useful to offer, or involve them directly, so that some of the decorations are the result of a collaboration. The popular bamboo is a house invention, inspired by the Regency style, and is particularly loved by American and French clients. In Europe, the most popular design is perhaps the dentil.
One more thing... How have you overcome challenges?
Our strength, during the difficult years when all our competitors were going out of business, was to try to expand abroad. This also meant “adapting our taste” – to the types of wood we used, for example. Decorated furniture had its heyday decades ago, and by the late 1980s our market had already shifted – surprisingly, given that the borders were still largely closed – towards China. In the 2000s, it was the turn of the Arab world, and then Russia.
Now London is starting to come back. There is also a renewed interest in “dressing the walls”, a taste that had disappeared almost completely for a while. What the longer-term future will bring, we simply don’t know. The important thing is to be ready to adapt.
Interview by Sara Pierdonà
Images from Martina Marzola
EXPLORE THE ATLAS
