A new idea,

a new challenge is taking shape.

And, never like now

I experience the emotion strongly

of being able to combine passion, craft and experience.








New sustainable curtains

Woven in

Aloe and cotton.

soft to the touch, washable

in water

and with a pastel color nuance.

Color envelops our lives,

it gives us sensations...

Passion,

Energy.....

Color has always been Life.

Today with the new palette we can offer you 500 shades of color on a linen-cotton textile base.


What will be the right shade for your home?

Venice Design Week, an event that celebrates art and design in the heart of the lagoon... cradle of history, arts and crafts that have made this land "Unique in the World."

Experiencing this context, on the anniversary of my 45th year of profession, with an artefact that tells the story of the oldest UNESCO site in the Veneto, "Venice and its Lagoon," is a great emotion... difficult to describe.

“UNIQUE SERIES” a project that I have been sharing for 20 months with nine other Artisans, written and coordinated by Federica Preto Fondo Plastico, which has seen us engaged in an innovative challenge: designing and creating artefacts that tell the beauty and well-made of our territory .

We have chosen the nine UNESCO sites in Veneto as study and inspiration.

We present for the first time the "SERIE UNICA" collection made up of nine works resulting from our skills and knowledge, which involve the materials we work with every day, marble, ceramic, paper, wood, metal, fabric, leather, stone.


The event will be held from 7 to 15 October inside the evocative former Jesuit convent, COMBO 4878, Sestiere di Cannaregio, a location that will be the setting for the works exhibited by Designers and Master Craftsmen.

We will be present and happy to meet you at the following times:

Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00 to 19.00 - weekdays from 10.00 to 18.00

Thank you for your attention. I wish you a good day


Ernesto Contessa

https://www.venicedesignweek.com/serie-unica-craft-design-made-in-veneto/


Related projects

Partly out of challenge, partly out of curiosity and a great desire for research, I often find myself involved in events and displays that to many might seem useless, especially for economic purposes.

I firmly believe that challenges are a stimulus to learn and to push you to look beyond the limits that our minds often impose on us.

Among the challenges that I have faced with enthusiasm we find:

the 25th of Elle Decor, a well-known industry magazine where I collaborated in the preparation of the Rooms exhibition in Milan, creating one of the exhibition spaces (Waikiki Motel) together with my colleague Alessandro Baldassar from Trento and with colleagues from the Italian Association of Upholsterers and Decorators.

Another challenge subsequently undertaken by Homi Milano in the "Matirials" exhibition coordinated by the architect Salamanca where I set up exhibition spaces for two consecutive years with the collaboration of the colleagues of the Italian Association of Upholsterers and Decorators CITA, at Milan trade fairs, with the aim of telling and transmitting our Craft.

Another collaboration was with the colleague Virzi Pietro from Milan for the creation of an installation created for the first edition of the "Homo Faber" 2018 exhibition in Venice, a project by the architect India Mahdavi where a circular sofa in segmented velvet was created of color all sewn by hand.

An extraordinary collaboration was made with the artist Dino De Simone and the Fiber Art And art gallery of Gabriella Anedi in Milan, where the challenge was to translate two works by Maestro De Simone into fabric; the first work was reproduced by transferring the work into a digital embroidery, the second was always from a work by Dino De Simone into a textile screen.

Both works were exhibited at the international embroidery exhibitions in Casal Monferrato, (AL) and included in the catalogues.

I would say the most surprising project was the collaboration with the ISIA University of Urbino, where 4 students and the teacher Prof. Mauro Bubbico, an internationally recognized graphic designer, accepted the challenge I proposed to him in describing the Upholsterer Man with images and graphics.

A unique and exciting experience, a year and a half of dialogues, research in direct contact with the graphic designers who discovered the world of upholstery, the fellow artisans of the CITA Association were also involved in telling their life story. All this led to the creation of a book currently only printed in a few copies with the title "Bottega". the work presented at the sector exhibitions received notable mentions and appreciation in Europe, selected by the ADI committee as among the best graphic projects presented that year and included in the prestigious Iindex 2020 catalogue.

Continuing the list of events in which I have participated, many are the editions of Arredamont "Mountain furniture" at Longarone Fiere, the European Art Crafts Days with the Arca dei Talenti group, the Sapere delle Mani competition in Rome, the Missoni exhibition Gallarate Milan.

A constant and constructive collaboration with the Zironi family of the Vittorio Zironi Bologna Fabric and Upholstery Museum, subsequently the museum passed under the management of the Historical Museums of Ancient Art of Bologna, the collaboration and dialogue continues with the curator of the museums Dr. Benevolo Giancarlo , a professional historian and lover of textile art.

From 2019 to 2022 I led as President the Italian Association of Upholsterers and Decorators CITA, a group that pursues the objective of promoting and supporting the art and culture of the trade.

Very inspiring was my collaboration as a teacher on the course for the training of young upholsterers held in Padua with Enaip Veneto and the Nalesso company where I was able to pass on my knowledge to the young upholsterers who approached this profession.

November 2022 the Veneto Region recognizes me with the title of Master Craftsman honored for having brought the profession of upholsterer into this Register for the first time.

I believe it is important and stimulating to leave our walls, abandon our "comfort zone" and constantly nourish the mind. As a Craftsman I am more than convinced that there is always room for improvement day after day.

September 2023 participation in the 31st historical re-enactment of the Middle Ages where together with the colleagues of the APE Tappezzerie riunite group we present the research done on medieval tapestry, where we had some details of the craft touched and tried and the emotions gathered from the eyes of hundreds of kids were priceless .

October 2023 after 2 years of work carried out with nine artisans from the Veneto managed by Federica Preto Fondo Plastico we will present the prototypes born from the "SERIE UNICA" project as part of the Venice Desing Week.

An intense work where the nine UNESCO sites of the Veneto were studied by the nine Artisans and interpreted with the materials of our expertise.






Allow the new generations to experience a bit of their profession

it is not a choice, but an obligation if we want our children/grandchildren to build a better tomorrow.


Valvasone (PN) XXXI Medieval historical re-enactment,

With the APE Tappezzerie Riunite Team we have touched and experienced some details of our profession to pass on what we have been taught to the new generations.

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