The journey begins at your fingertips
The history of the Zoffoli brand and the variety of its range of products testify the commitment and the seriousness of the company in wisely preserving craft traditions by aiming for a production that is always attentive to style and to take care details.
Zoffoli: A family History
From the rudimentary lathe of the founder Italo, to the modern laboratory of his nephew Mattia, from the shop windows in Rome, Milan, Florence to those in London and New York.
The history of our brand and of our unmistakable globes is rich and intense and it is really worth retracing it to understand how much passion and tenacity are enclosed in our elegant globes.
The Fifties:
the beginning
It was back in 1949 when Italo Zoffoli started his craft activity in the centre of Rimini.
In his laboratory he lathed the legs for the furniture and the 'onions' for beds, and only in his free time transported by his great passion for geography- used to build occasionally some globes, carving them by hand and making them watercolor by his daughters and by some nuns on the hills of Rimini.
The Sixties:
“The golden Lathe” and the international success
The beauty of Italo Zoffoli globes, finley handcrafted, didn’t go unnoticed, indeed. On the wave of this appreciation, between the fifties and sixties Italo had an original idea and - as history teaches us - absolutely winning: in his laboratory in Rimini, in those years, the first bar globes were born, and in 1963 won to this imaginative craftsman the aspired award 'Tornio d'oro', assigned by the Museum of Science and Technology of Milan.
This is how the national and especially international success of the Zoffoli brand was born, brand that began exporting its globes first to France and Germany, and then overseas, also conquering the US market.
The Nineties:
confirmations and new designs
Between the ‘70s and the ‘80s Zoffoli globes managed to penetrate different markets, making their way everywhere in the world.
To satisfy the increasing demand for artifacts, production gradually became modern, in order to realize faster and faster the famous pieces of furniture, maintaining, at the same time, the quality that has always distinguished them.
In the nineties, production was enriched by the first designed globes, objects of absolute impact and very suggestive that, thanks to the uniqueness of the materials used, are perfectly suited even to the most modern environments.
The Two-Thousands:
landing on the web
Nowadays the Zoffoli globes can be found everywhere.
Walking down Madison Avenue, in New York, you can see them in the luxurious shop windows of Barneys, as well as in the most exclusive shops in London.
They also appeared on famous production sets such as “Inglorious Bastards”, “Django unchained”, and so on.
To satisfy the clients all around the world in every moment, the Zoffoli globes have also landed on the web with an appreciated e-commerce that, once again, almost seventy years later confirms the brilliance of Italo Zoffoli.
An internationally recognized style
In the ancient Greece the meaning of craftsmanship was guarded in the word technè, which included in one term two concepts of Art and Craftsmanship. That is what craftsmanship means to our company: it's not just about manual skills or love for details, not even just the use of precious materials. The craftsmanship that has been pursued for years in the Zoffoli laboratories, assumes, instead, full sense, by the continuous aesthetic and stylistic research, thanks to which our products have been recognised and appreciated for years at an international level.
An indissoluble artisan spirit
Then as now, Zoffoli globes are realized with an extreme cure, starting from the detail-oriented selection of raw material.
To ensure the best results, one part of the production continue to be realized and decorated by hand, making every single globe a unique piece, just as the ones packaged by Italo Zoffoli in the '50s and '60s. The secret that allows our company to maintain intact our artisan spirit is to look at new technologies never as an end, nor a goal but always and in any case as if they were some extra tools, thanks to which we can further refine our art, without ever impoverishing it.
The craftsman touch remains in this way always central and so it will be for the many globes that will continue to emerge from the laboratories of this fascinating Italian company.
Now as then, unique globes
Peculiar techniques, ancient wisdom, suggestions and secrets have been handed down from father to son, to make this artifacts more and more fascinating, as well as, basically, unrepeatable.
An infinite attention to detail:
our values
We saw them in many Hollywood movies, we also admired them in sophisticated lounges of our country.
Elegant and distinct like few other furnishing elements, the bar globes were invented by Italo Zoffoli around the '50s. Therefore, we are talking about a unique product that, although not patented, has always distinguished the creativity and the style of this historical and famous brand.
The expert hand of the craftsman
The Zoffoli globes are realised starting from precious and carefully selected raw materials, to ensure a high quality finished product.
Having excellent materials available is, obviously not enough, to produce exclusive products like these daily. Our real strength lies in the craftsmanship and so, in the detail-oriented job done by the expert artisans.
Genuinely made in Italy
We can therefore affirm, without any hesitation, that every single Zoffoli signed object is the son of the most authentic Made in Italy: all the components are indeed designed, assembled and produced in Italy, with the same genuine spirit with which in 1949 the founder of the company started his essential lathe to give shape to the first wooden artifacts.
The mastery in craftsmanship that in 1963 won him the prestigious award "Il tornio d'oro", followed by many others awards, therefore it isn't lost, but rather remains central in every single moment of the Zoffoli's product life.
Ancient wisdom, for globes full of charm
"There are artisans in our area who over time become synonymous of what they produce. Skilled and patients men who gain experience from their fathers and in turn pass it on to their children.
Thus, from generation to generation, suggestions, memories and ancient knowledge are handed down, which serves to make our products always authentic and full of charm. "