At Calligaris, we believe that furniture should be as functional as it is elegant.
We believe that innovative design should be engineered to offer real life solutions and essential comfort. And even after 100 years of experience in the industry, we continue to experiment with materials and finishes.
After all, our ability to embrace change is perhaps the most enduring characteristic of the Calligaris brand.
We know that every space and home-maker’s needs are different, so we offer a wide range of products and made-to-order options to make sure you find what you like.
Whether it’s a dining area that is always ready to welcome friends and family, the comforting call of the sofa, the dreamy prospect of your bed at the end of a long day, the home working area where ideas and inspiration can flow freely, when it comes to contemporary design for real life, Calligaris is where you’ll always feel at home.
We believe in quality. In fact, we choose top-range materials, we research new formulations to offer the finest performances and durability, we submit our products to rigorous test sequences for obtaining the necessary certifications in accordance to the highest standards. Above all, we love close and long-term relationships growing day by day, which is why you’ll find our stores all over the world.
With the outbreak of World War I many men were enlisted soon leading economy to paralysis.
By the end of the war 70% of the industrial infrastructure and factories were destroyed. However, at the beginning of the 1920s the number of companies in the Manzano area quadrupled: they were small or very small family businesses joining to the house. Calligaris was born in 1923 in Manzano as a small craft workshop founded by Antonio Calligaris for the production of the Marocca chair, that was characterized by a wooden frame and straw seat, typical artifact of the area.
In the following years and until the 1950s a network of companies, which complemented each other, was created and the largest ones started subcontracting part of the chair components.
Antonio Calligaris’ workshop organized the production bringing the timber from the surrounding mountains and the straw from the Friuli lagoon. The shop apprentices were entrusted with the staining of the straw, which was done with natural colors.
There were few machineries, most of the work was done by hand and mainly by women who took care of weaving the straw seats and staining the chairs.
Among the chair types in production, on top of the Thonet models, was realized a “Milano” chair type (economical version of the Thonet chair and the first chair especially designed for office use).