The Artisan

Paolo Castelli: Family Tradition And Contemporary Design

Meet Paolo Castelli, the creative mind behind the eponymous design brand. Founded in 2011, the company looks back on a long history, made of family traditions and passion for design. Go behind the scenes of Paolo Castelli’s collections, an expression of the evolution of traditional know-how into modern design.

The story of the Castelli family in the field of design dates back more than 140 years ago, when Ettore Castelli opened the first cabinetry in Bologna, giving way to a long entrepreneurial adventure, full of passion, Italian know-how and innovation. Today, Paolo Castelli carries on the family commitment with the same spirit, designing sophisticated collections distinguished by great care for details and materials, thanks to the collaboration with prestigious designer and Italian artisans.

Your family’s history has been inextricably linked to the world of design since the end of the 19th century. What prompted you to continue your family tradition and how did this 140-year story begin?

On the day of my college graduation, my father offered me a job at Modular, our small family business of interior curtains - that was in 1994. I accepted thinking it would be a commitment of only a few months, I surely never imagined it would be the first step of my journey into the world of furniture. Somehow, the passion for the "bello e fatto ad arte” (t/n: beautiful and artfully done) is in our DNA, starting from my great-grandfather who was a cabinetmaker. It is an honor for me to continue my family’s amazing story, to which I have added my personal passion for design.

The brand Paolo Castelli is not limited to creating design pieces with a unique character but also extends to large-scale projects of excellence, from the Italian Pavilion at the 2015 Expo to the Mandarin Oriental in Milan. What project has fascinated you the most and why?

There are many projects I feel connected to. Perhaps the most special of all is the Cini Foundation Library in Venice, on the Island of San Giorgio. A technically complex yet personally exciting project, both for its magnificent location and the purity of the planning by Michele De Lucchi, who transformed the monastery’s interior into a temple of culture with incredible simplicity. It was an honor to have the opportunity to participate in such a special creation.