Feature: Handicrafts remain key value of Italy's furniture

The Salone del Mobile, or Milan's furniture fair, opened here on Tuesday and will run until Sunday.

In the country renowned for its Made in Italy, what is the relation between furniture industry and traditional handicrafts? Various exhibitors and visitors offered their answers.

Artisan manufacturing can certainly be combined with today's needs, namely technology and mechanics, said Massimo Maggi, owner of a family company with the same name created by his grandfather and based near Florence, in central Italy.

"Our production times are obviously longer, generally above 30 days, but the cultural content of our furniture is a tradition which has survived for hundreds of years," Maggi told Xinhua at his stand at the fair.

"Of course, we use advanced instruments compared to those used by my grandfather decades ago, but a glance at the finishing touch is enough to realize the difference between industrial production and handicrafts, or what certain types of clients, the most passionate ones, are looking for," said Maggi who also has a showroom in Shanghai.

He went on saying, old artisans, unfortunately are gradually disappearing, and most of them have not young successors able to take over.

He warned that "such a wealth, which is also a big slice of the economy, should never be lost in Italy," and "more schools should be created that can transfer the artisan skills to young people."

Besides skills, however, strong passion is also fundamental for a young person to carry on an artisan tradition handed down by past generations, Michela Cappellini, third-generation export manager at Cappellini Intagli, a furniture company founded in 1947 near Milan, said.

"I was born within this passion, and what I like most is mixing the modern and classical style," she said while showing her stand to some visitors.

"We started with complementary pieces, but now we also produce complete furnishing, from bedrooms and dining rooms to offices and so on," she added.

Cappellini stressed it is very important for her to convey the message of the history that is behind her company's creations in wood and subject to great care in finishes and materials.

"You may have the impression that everything is so simple, but actually is the result of very long study of the project and of very difficult skills that are harder to find in this sector," she said.

Deep knowledge of the artisan tradition and longstanding trust-based relations with the furniture professionals as well as with the clients are the fundamental ingredient of a top quality work that Cappellini defined as very complex, though full of satisfaction.

More than 300,000 professionals from over 160 countries and regions are expected to visit the 55th edition of the Salone del Mobile to see the latest products showcased by more than 2,400 exhibitors this year.

The Italian furniture industry closed 2015 with a turnover worth nearly 25 billion euros (28 billion U.S. dollars), 3.4 percent up from that in 2014. Endit