IFDM Monogram X SICIS 2023

CONTEMPORARY ECLECTICISM

SICIS interprets the new requirements of the market: a mixture of antique and modern, a fusion between decorative and essential parts

The reflections behind the offerings of SICIS for the appointment par excellence with the design community, the Salone del Mobile.Milano, starts from afar, from classical culture. The concept, inspired by the Greek term, eklektikos, speaks of the ability to choose what seems best from the infinite aesthetic possibilities offered by history. In design, eclecticism means being to draw on multiple sources and styles in a harmonious blend that creates a new sense of the contemporary. This is the vision of SICIS, a brand that began in the field of production of mosaic tiles, now an international reference point of premium Made in Italy, for the creation of unique, personalized and coordinated settings, from walls to lighting, textiles to complements

and furnishings. Everything starts with in-depth study of the market. The latest décor orientations, on a national and above all international level, have to do with the combination of antiques – perhaps family heirlooms – with modern furnishings, in a sort of contemporary eclecticism. This is an almost philosophical vision, which finally acknowledges the importance of the new without forgetting the lessons of the past. It is in this perspective that SICIS proposes its new Home collections, combining them with decorative crafted items that create a complete universe of furnishings, surfaces, textiles and complements, for solutions in line with the requests of an increasingly refined and demanding market in constant evolution.

Careful craftsmanship

An age-old tradition of craftsmanship meets cutting-edge technology: these are the characteristics of all the production of SICIS

Also in the area of production processes, SICIS never betrays the past. It is no coincidence, perhaps, that the company is based in Ravenna, the home of some of the world’s most famous mosaic masterpieces, and that the brand’s first productions were precisely in the field of mosaic tile. Still today, SICIS relies on fine craftsmanship combined with advanced production technologies, fully respecting the most timely standards of sustainability. SICIS continues to create things that are “made by hand,” as in the decorative mosaics where master artisans cut the tiles to create very intricate motifs. The same is true of the furnishings: consoles, chairs and mirrors are still carved by applying woodworking techniques passed down from generation to generation. Alongside these operations, SICIS never ceases to move forward with its research. Over the years, new production processes have been developed, such as the patented “double indirect” method for the application of mosaics, making it possible to transport the products all over the world and assemble them on site. Or the creation of new materials like Vetrite, to respond to the challenge of producing a sheet with the same qualities as glass, but with the application possibilities of stoneware.

THE FABRICS

The furnishing fabrics created to cover the upholstered pieces of the Home collection are ideally derived from mosaics: crafted with the jacquard technique, they have a floral style and three-dimensional effects.

SURFACES

From the small tesserae to the large glass slabs, SICIS offers a whole world of solutions for indoor and outdoor surfaces, characterized by unique designs and extreme versatility.

LIGHTING

Created in various styles, the SICIS lamps utilize glass combined with metal, wood, fabrics and –obviously – mosaic tiles. They provide elements of design, but also connections with the surrounding setting.

From project to reality

To create “total SICIS” environments that offer a harmonious atmosphere, in keeping with the stylemes of the brand: this is the mission of SICIS, which over the years has expanded its production to extend from the facings to the SICIS Interiors collection, providing a wide range of furnishings, lights, fabrics and complements. Precisely because every place, every residence or contract project, speaks a unique language, in tune with the personality of its inhabitants. To succeed in this, in what is also an existential philosophy of harmony and beauty, SICIS provides its clients with a team of architects and interior designers whose expertise is based not only on years of work on the company’s products, but also on a sensibility honed inside a brand that has always formulated its added value by means of attention to detail. From the most prestigious hotels to super-yachts, to the most exclusive stores and the most luxurious private homes, SICIS creates projects made to measure, including the Central Park Tower residential complex in New York, the Delta Sky Clubs in the United States, the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, and the exclusive super-yacht Happy Me constructed by Benetti.

Between technique and art

With five showrooms in the world’s nerve centers in terms of culture and style – New York, London, Paris, Milan and Dubai –SICIS represents a reality at the highest level in the panorama of premium interior design, a world leader of deluxe mosaic decoration, and a testimonial of “Made in Italy” that is acknowledged and recognizable across the globe. The history of this brand is a continuous intertwining of culture, creativity, innovation and reinterpretation, using new tools and traditional craftsmanship. Starting with the name, an acronym of the Latin phrase “Sic Immensos Clarosque Inceptos Somniavi” (“thus have I dreamt of grand and illustrious adventures”), chosen in 1987 by the founder Maurizio Leo Placuzzi, suggesting dreams of glory, beauty and art. And continuing in the passion of Placuzzi, a lover and collector of neoclassical artefacts in micro-mosaic, who in 1990 created a team for the study of this refined technique inside the recently formed company. The roots of the art of Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, home of the SICIS headquarters, have been combined with creative innovations that have caused a true revolution in the art of mosaics: from the patent for a

machine to cut the tiles, to the creation of the innovative Iridium collection of iridescent glass tiles fastened on screens, or the Metallismo collection, the first one created in steel and brass in the world of mosaics. The creativity does not stop, however, with mosaics and furnishings: in 2012, after years of historical studies and research on the micro-mosaic technique, at Baselworld SICIS presented its first pieces of fine jewelry, created by Roger Thomas, a designer with whom SICIS has collaborated with exceptional results. Since then, the SICIS Jewels line has expanded year after year, appearing at the leading sector fairs such as Haute Jewels, Watch & Jewellery Middle East and JeweLuxe. A few years later came Tessere, the first collection of décor fabrics inspired by mosaics. A never-ending story, across a span of slightly more than 35 years; which is only the beginning, since its art and culture are at the center of an important philosophy of design. The company has received many prizes and honors, and has carried out very important international projects. To confirm the legacy of beauty that is the essence of SICIS, the catalogues of the collections have been made like true books since 1992, with elegant binding and exceptional photography.

The start of a great history

In 1987, without any initial capital, armed only with his vision, determination and hopes, Maurizio Leo Placuzzi founded SICIS. The headquarters was near Cervia. The first large commission came one year later: marble floors created with the traditional techniques of Roman mosaics, for the residence of the Saudi sheikh Al-Gosaibi. To respond to the growing and increasingly complex demands of clients, the company moved its headquarters to Ravenna, and in 1989, just two years after its founding, one of the most famous hotels of the time, the Ritz in Paris, chose SICIS mosaics to cover its luxurious internal spa facility. The company grew, multiplying its increasingly exclusive commissions: the floors

of the Bellagio Resort, the Wynn Casino and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; or the 17,000 sqm of artistic mosaics for the Hotel Malabata in Tangier. In 1996 came a new success story: SICIS entered the Guinness World Records with the 42,000 sqm of mosaic decorations for the Mahmood Saeed Oasis Mall in Jeddah, the largest mosaic installation in the world. Today SICIS is located on Via Canala in Ravenna, where it moved in 1997, and it has the proportions of a small village of 85,000 sqm, with offices, warehouses, display areas and a furnace for the production of glass mosaic tiles. This facility is the departure point for the collections, shipped to the most refined and elegant locations in the world.

1987

Maurizio Leo Placuzzi founds SICIS without any initial capital; the headquarters is an old abandoned house in Cannuzzo, Cervia.

2010

SICIS presents its first collection of furnishings, Next Art, at the Salone del Mobile in Milan: iconic pieces, enhanced by decorations in micro-mosaic.

2022

Despite the difficult world situation SICIS opens its new hub in Dubai and signs important new international projects.

1994

The first collection of mosaic tiles in Murano glass, representing a radical breakthrough from a technical viewpoint in the sector.

2016

SICIS patents an exclusive facing material, Vetrite: large sheets of glass and polymers, making it possible to create extraordinary patterns for interior design.

Beyond all limits

The adventure of SICIS, full of successes, wagers, commitment and courage, is an exemplary tale that borders on existential speculation. Starting from the concept of ‘eklektikos,’ the eclectic character of its inspirations. In philosophy, Eclecticism is a current formed in the Hellenistic-Roman era (in and around the 2nd century BC), indicating – as it still does today – the method of taking what is considered pertinent from a range of different doctrines, bringing the various elements into harmony through a new synthesis. Which often leads to revolutionary results. As in the case of Maurizio Leo Placuzzi’s intuition of combining the art of mosaics, the cultural legacy of his homeland, Ravenna, with new techniques, new materials, new forms, creating a system that represents the sum of productive and design factors derived from different styles and historical periods. Responding, in fact, to an existential need of man and his contemporary habitat, a need that gains force over time: to be surrounded by new harmonies and rediscovered beauty. In a dimension that crosses time, along the thread of emotion.