Ettore Alessi The company gradually abandoned the use of soft metals in the ’50s, replacing them with stainless steel, transforming production from artisan to industrial. A sign of change with a new name: ALFRA (ALessi FRAtelli).

The firm Alessi was founded in 1921 when Giovanni Alessi Anghini who was a sheet metal worker set up a foundry at Omegna to produce tableware in copper, brass, and nickel silver which was then electroplated. By 1924 the Fratelli Alessi Omegna company was making coffee pots and trays as well as small household items.

1921, Crusinallo, Omegna, Italy

Born in Arona (Novara), Italy, in 1946, Alberto Alessi is president of Alessi S.p.A. and head of Marketing Strategy, Communications, and Design Management.

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Since 1921, the year in which the firm was established, most Alessi objects have been created via cold processing of the metals and, even today, are still made in Italy by highly skilled craftsmen at the factory in Crusinallo, Omegna, In recent decades, Alessi has also included many other materials in its catalogue.

Since 1921 Alessi has operated from the same northern Italian valley within striking distance of the Alps, and it doesn’t outsource everything to China: virtually everything made of cold-pressed metal or of wood is still manufactured in Italy.

Crusinallo, Omegna, Italy

Frank Gehry, Richard Meier and Morphosis studio are all key American design figures who have collaborated with Alessi; of course, non-Americans like Aldo Rossi have also shaped contemporary design through their work for Alessi (Rossi’s conical coffee maker was a design stamp of the 1980s).

The Italian company was founded in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi and initially concentrated on metal kitchenware. His products and designs of coffee pots became so popular, that by 1924 the brand name ‘Alessi’ was established. The aim was to mass produce desirable, high quality, everyday household products.

As a result of its ethical business approach, Alessi became a Certified B Corporation in June 2017, the single italian design brand and between the first 50 italian companies to obtain such certification.

The name Alessi comprises three big brands, that are not independent identities, but rather three different expressions of the same corporate identity.

It has been called a “Factory of dreams” and its aim is to respond, with its products, to the need for happiness, for Art and Poetry, a need shared by the whole of mankind. Alessi is –

Ettore Alessi A sign of change with a new name: ALFRA (ALessi FRAtelli). During these years, the company specialised in the production of objects for professional use (for hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.). Carlo Alessi, the founder’s eldest son, took over from his father at the company helm.

Italy

GHI Expert Verdict. Undoubtedly a stylish kettle but the bird attachment is not practical and the stainless steel exterior gets very hot. It is also impossible to tell how much water is in the kettle.

A few years after World War 1, Alessi started with producing a wide range of tableware items in nickel, chromium and silver-plated brass. The company began when Carlo Alessi (born 1916), the son of Giovanni, was named chief designer. Between 1935 and 1945 he developed most of the products Alessi released.

Alessi – best products

• Piana chair by David Chipperfield, 2014.
• La Conicaespresso maker by Aldo Rossi.
• 9091 kettle by Richard Sapper.
• Juicy Salif , Philippe Starck, 1990.
• Pots&Pans, Jasper Morrison, 2006.
• Record wristwatch – Achille Castiglioni with graphics by Max Huber, 1989.
• Anna G. Corkscrew.

It is also easy to clean because the cone and the sieve insert are dishwasher safe. In short, a beautiful object to display on your kitchen counter!

From the mid-thirties until the mid-forties, he designed many Alessi works including the “Ottagonale”, “Scalini”, “Cilindrica” and “Bombé’” series. In the fifties, he became managing director of the company bringing with him a new international dimension and began working with new external designers.