MAKER | EUROPE | ITALY | CERAMICS
Bitossi Ceramiche | Ceramic Studio

Bitossi Ceramiche began within tradition: production included Della Robbia wall friezes, oil jars, table services and so on, until the late 1940s. After WWII, when sculptor Aldo Londi joined the company, the leap forward took place, characterised by experimentation and openness to the international market. Thanks to an American contact, in 1955 Bitossi welcomed Ettore Sottsass, who, still inexperienced in ceramics, practised within the factory walls to create shapes that were precursors of modern ceramics.
Ginevra Bocini, the fourth Bitossi generation and the brand's current creative director, has drawn from the family's past a solid conviction about the value of collaboration and experimentation. Of their newer lines, she mentions Patricia Urquiola (inspired by the merlons of medieval palaces) and Christoph Radl (who worked on the concept of modularity, creating sculptural containers).
How did you begin?
"To talk about what fascinates me about my work, I must start from the origins and an almost 1000-year-old tradition. The history of ceramics in Montelupo Fiorentino, Tuscany, began around the 14th-century, and has continued uninterrupted thanks to oral transmission from father to son. These were always family-run workshops, and this was also the case for Bitossi, a brand founded by my great-grandfather Guido simply using his surname, and following centuries of experience that he learned from my grandfather Tito and father Egidio.
"The company was officially founded in 1921, and grew thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of my grandfather, Vittoriano Bitossi, and the artistic sensitivity of my mother, who pioneered the project of bringing more creativity into the brand. I represent the fourth generation, but possibly this history can go back further, and that fascinates me. 'Made in Italy' tends to have lost its meaning in the consciousness of most people, but when I reflect on the last century of my family and how deeply it is intertwined with the national history and culture of the area, suddenly this expression regains power and I realize how captivating our traditions are."

How did you learn?
"I studied at Central Saint Martins in London and, once I returned to my family, I started working at Bitossi Home, a brand’s branch with a more recent history dedicated to table décor, that also includes textiles, glasses, cutlery. I set out to rethink the way we decorate the table in an innovative way, and the symbolic project in that direction was ‘La Tavola Scomposta’ (the disassembled table), which treated the table in a more contemporary way and drew on many different cultures. When I later joined Bitossi Ceramiche, I did so by working alongside my mother, who was a great creative woman, and by striving to also learn the technique behind the brand, the ‘savoir faire’ in the manual sense. I have been involved in both companies for several years, but I consider each new project an interesting challenge in itself."
How do you plan, prepare and create your works?
"Having so many lines, it is difficult to make a general statement on how all products are made. I can say that clay, like any material, has characteristics that may initially seem limiting, but with the right perspective they turn into creative opportunities. Depending on the project, we choose the most suitable type, then determine the processing technique: lathe, mould or casting.
"Often, a designer is not fully familiar with the material and its many characteristics, and it is therefore up to the company team to guide him towards the solution that best meets his conceptual vision. Technology, for example the use of 3D printing, can be very useful in anticipating methods and timescales, offering quick solutions to obstacles that may arise during the prototyping phase.
"Innovation also takes place through the choice of surface thickness, coating or engraving, which can be more or less textural. The interesting thing is that the most advanced technologies do not work without a creative person capable of perceiving their limits, or how to go beyond them or bend them to one's intent. So the full potential of very sophisticated tools ultimately depends on creative intuition.
"The Bitossi Ceramiche headquarters was built by my great-grandfather in 1929. A few years ago, in order to promote greater synergy between all departments, I decided to also move the commercial part and the showroom of Bitossi Home to the same address.

Who or what most influences your work?
"The central theme of Bitossi is to bring contemporaneity to the past. The archive plays an enormous role in keeping our identity coherent, and we can count on over 7000 ceramics (on display at the Bitossi Museum Archive), which recount the aesthetic evolution of the product from the 1920s to the present day.
"Designers are invited to become familiar with the material and its possibilities by visiting this space where endless variations of textures and techniques parade, but after this we know that each designer will bring a unique vision (we involve them for this!) that will lead to different and new aesthetic solutions, which will in turn enhance the Bitossi collection. In this process, prototyping is fundamental: for the company it is a cost and a responsibility, but on a creative level it is the moment when the dialogue between the designer and the factory really takes place, and the adventure begins."
Interview by Sara Pierdonà
Images from Matteo Bianchessi and DSL Studio