Giusi Tacchini talks about her dual role as CEO-Art Director

Tacchini has been a family firm ever since my father set it up in 1967. Now, my brother Maurizio and I  helm the company. I look after the business side and creative decisions and Maurizio looks after and steers all the production stages. I always try to see my dual role as CEO and Art Director as an added value, because it enables me to have a dual perspective. As CEO I regard communicating and transmitting the value of the artisan manufacture of our products as fundamental. The quality of our products derives from the synergy between tradition, technological innovation and design. As Art Director, I look after the selection and direction of the professionals involved at all stages of the realisation: from the designers to the producers to management. We always try to give space to creatives and to promote their work, creating products that reflect the language of the brand as well as the designer’s aesthetic, putting together a diverse catalogue representative of the spirit of Tacchini.

Tacchini’s DNA is built around the artisan quality of its production, around sustainability and our collaborations.  Along with the control of raw materials, these values have set us apart right from the start and have ensured that we are highly thought-of all over the world.  We strive to tell a story with our products, focusing on the design message, i.e. the people behind the idea, and underscoring the craftsmanship. Even the attention we devote to re-editions is part of this dynamic, representing the first step towards forward planning.

In order to build the future we always have to keep an eye on the past and, especially, to be mindful of our own story and the values that have gone hand-in-hand with our brand right from the off.

Over the years we have built up a network of relationships that have influenced our growth and our recognisability on the Made in Italy design scene. Contract is fundamental and was our starting point, but thanks the things we’ve produced over the last few years, the home furnishing line has shown great results, thanks also to our collaborations with contemporary designers and the archive and the heirs of the visionary Masters of the past. We are committed to disseminating the new Tacchini “language.” As a company and as producers we have a duty to do our bit by forging a new ecological approach, promoting the reuse of recycled materials and spreading awareness of the infinite green possibilities at our disposal.  

I like to think that the image of quality and the language that have made our brand so well-loved have also been triggered by the deeper concepts underpinning our management decisions, which I try to pass on in my work. Since its foundation, Tacchini has always supported the “zero kilometre” policy in the design sector, for example. Our role is to guarantee checks that will ensure a reduction in the consumption of non-renewable resources, keeping waste to a minimum and creating long-lasting products.

My passion for the Masters inspired the idea for the Design Classic project, a catalogue of re-editions of pieces by the Masters of Italian Design that are entering the collection, made possible by working closely with the archives or the heirs to these visionaries.  

Every Salone has a special place in my memory, I remember them all as the high points of the year, when we finally have an opportunity to show our work to the public and gather their impressions, after such a lot of hard work and commitment. We’ve always had lots of visitors, and we were happily surprised by the interest in our display choices. In 2019, we presented a limited re-edition of the  Reversivel armchair, originally designed by Martin Eisler, which generated a lot of attention. Supersalone was even more surprising, because the new exhibition format allowed us to adopt a bold and impactful solution for the Orsola armchair, which we hung and fixed to our stand. The public were more curious than ever and it generated new clients, many of whom have come to see our new showroom in Seveso. In both cases the decision to go bold really paid off, on both occasions we were featuring a product from the Design Classic catalogue, with our re-editions of masterly works.

What I’m looking forward to most of all from this 60th edition, is to be able to relive again that fantastic feeling on the first and last day of the Salone, which has always stoked so many emotions and wonderful memories.

After the last couple of years, during which we saw significant growth not just economically and financially but also in increased recognition of our hallmark style, we made a bold decision around the new products to be presented at the Salone del Mobile 2022. A product that will become a new Tacchini icon, with a distinctive personality, ageless, under the banner of masterly re-editions. This product encapsulates our history.