A benchmark for those in Milan who look for a refined and moderate design, though full of prompts and can-do spirit, the ZEUS Blue Garage in Corso S. Gottardo hosts the Ensemble Lifestyle project. Following its launch with the ‘Design Store’ opening two years ago, the project, which is supported by four quality partners, has grown and established as an area for spreading a refined and consistent culture of the product. These four partners, each in their own product category, adhere to a production philosophy that is also a culture of design and home living. Here are some of its principles: firstly, the high quality of product processing, which is achieved through both craftsmanship methods and sophisticated manufacturing techniques; secondly, the will of offering a real lifestyle through a mix of products; thirdly, the use of natural materials, both traditional and modern, such as metals, silk, linen, paper and glass.
Prandina, Shuj, Woodnotes and Zeus can somehow be brand-identified by their refined and educated commitment to an exclusive use of these materials according to what could be called the ‘tradition of novelty’, which they all have in common. It is because of this assumption and philosophy that the four partners almost naturally chose each other, being in different commodity sectors each with their own uniqueness but sharing the same coherence and passion. Ensemble Lifestyle is ultimately, and above all, a synergistic project where the specific skills, qualities and differences of the four players create a consistent and well-balanced home environment. The idea behind it is that design is not a mere change and combination of shapes and fashionable or trendy colors, but rather a deeper issue, a complex creative process having to blend tradition with innovation, quality and culture in an overall vision of style.
Franco Raggi
Located in Bassano del Grappa since 1982, it is a brand of light fittings and lamps, mainly made of glass, for interiors and work areas. Their design follows some basic principles: simplicity, formal precision, functionality and lasting quality, i.e. principles that naturally underlie good design and a high standard of workmanship. During its over 30 year-old activity, Prandina has always optimized glass as the chosen medium for light treatment, has enhanced its potential by constantly boosting research of new shapes and trying to give a contemporary twist to an ancient material that today is matched with the most advanced lighting technologies. The use of glass in its various production techniques and that of metals, both implemented with high quality standards, build a brand identity that is supported by a unique and non-invasive design, fitting the atmosphere and home living philosophy of Ensemble Lifestyle.
www.prandina.it
For over 30 years Zeus has been making a consistent contribution to the world of small series quality design. Its progress over the years has been constant and consistent. The Zeus project has always focused on the solution to the equation: quality, series, image, functionality and price. It could be defined as a minimalist, blunt and linear design with subtle hints of poetry and nature. In recent years, a merging of natural finished metals and other matters, both industrial and natural, has been the signature style of Zeus. Its mission is not so much a concept of product style as a concept of home environment and atmosphere, a kind of home living where high-tech industrial - and still hand-made - products are combined with the ‘manual’ worlds of glass and wood. The research of new, yet traditional materials, semi-handicraft production methods, high quality finishing and details are the distinctiveness of the thirty yearold tradition of Zeus.
www.zeusnoto.com
Pure materials, handicraft traditions and a mix of different cultures are the core of Shuj’s project, creating a new vision of modernity and a lifestyle in line with the Ensemble Lifestyle. Shuj’s collection offers sleeping and clothing solutions characterized by the exclusive use of ancient and valuable materials such as silk, linen, cotton and bamboo, all processed following old techniques and handicraft methods. Silk Embrace, a system made up of mattress top, pillow case and duvet, shows the versatility and uniqueness of silk as a light, insulating, antiperspirant and hypoallergenic material. Also targeted to the sleep topic, the Bedcare collection offers a full range of duvet covers, sheets and pillowcases available in mixtures of linen, silk and bamboo as well as in fine palettes of natural and soft colors. Comfort, naturalness, intimacy and relax are again the key words of Loungewear, a clothing collection made of Mongol cashmere and pure silk in interchangeable combinations of shapes and colors according to a philosophy centered on flexibility rather than a stringent approach to single pieces.
www.shuj.it
Eco-friendly by definition, paper is an apparently common material for common use. Starting from wood, a typical element of the Finnish landscape, and processing paper into a yarn, Woodnotes manufactures a wide and uncommon range of products characterized by basic and clean aesthetics. Carpets, blinds and panels, table textiles, bags and home accessories, furniture and upholstery are conceived by wisely blending eco-friendly renewable materials and sustainable technologies with the ethical and environmental values of the Finnish material culture. The result is a uniform variety of material and surface types with natural, elegant colors and textures in an artistic collection of products having a warm Nordic style.
www.woodnotes.fi
ensemblelifestyle.com
DESIGN STORE ZEUS / Corso San Gottardo 21/9, Milano - +39 02 8940 1198