Meet Guiseppi Arezzi’s Manico armchair, a comfortable distant cousin of the director’s chair (with a passing resemblance to the butterfly chair, too). Arezzi says he dreamed up the framework seat 10 years ago for a competition in which Sicilian designers were asked to come up with a piece of furniture inspired by Sicily.
“I decided to tell the story of the transition from traditional agriculture—which used manual tools, such as hoes and rakes—to contemporary agriculture, which makes use of increasingly sophisticated machinery,” explains Arezzi. “The Manico armchair, built with the handles of tools that are no longer used, is now the new chair of the farmer who’s cooling off under an olive tree.” A decade later, the design is being produced for the first time in collaboration with French creative studio It’s Great Design. Take a look.
Photography by Natale Leontini, courtesy of It’s Great Design.
Above: Margherita Ratti of It’s Great Design describes the Manico as “a new rural design characterized by its lightness and transparency.” The chair is handmade in Italy of interlocking ash dowels supported by metal screws and leather ties.
Above: The design helped Arezzi get nominated as one of Elle Decor Italia’s 2022 Young Talents of the Year. It’s finished with a cotton-linen backing and cushions that come in four colors. All of the fabric is removable and machine washable.Above: It’s Great Design is a private Paris gallery that specializes in producing work by emerging talents—with a focus, says founder Ratti, on designs “that could have an industrial application, but which remain quite confidential and locally produced.” The Manico is available in Europe from the gallery for €2,000—it will be offered on the It’s Great Design site in the coming weeks; in the meantime, email [email protected] Above: In the States, the Manico Chair is sold by Pamono by Chairish for $2,251. It comes fully assembled. Note, however, that there’s an estimated lag time of 15-17 weeks, and that shipping costs start at $850 ($2,022 for 3-5 week express). Keep up with the chair’s trajectory by following Arezzi on Instagram @guiseppiarezzi.