Pedrali

Pedrali's story began in 1963, when Mario Pedrali opened a locksmith's workshop in Palazzolo sull'Oglio, in the Brescia countryside, and started producing his first collection of wrought-iron outdoor seating — a first model called Serenella. His meeting with architect Luigi Vietti soon turned that craft workshop into a real company, one that was already exporting most of its output abroad by the following decade. Today Pedrali is run by Mario's children, Monica and Giuseppe, and employs some 340 people, with his grandson Andrea now designing for the brand himself.

Pedrali's philosophy is "100% Made in Italy": metal, plastic and upholstered pieces are produced at the headquarters in Mornico al Serio (Bergamo), home to an automated warehouse designed by architect Cino Zucchi, while wooden furniture comes from the historic "chair district" of Manzano (Udine). As Mario Pedrali himself liked to put it: "Our problem is that the objects we make age gracefully" — a quiet nod to a company built on pieces meant to last, not to be replaced.