Set of 17 Vintage Alitalia First Class Plates and Cups Designed by Joe Colombo

He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.

Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.

In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.

Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads. 

Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).

Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.

As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.

Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

The striking elegance and craftsmanship associated with vintage Richard Ginori porcelain and ceramics are hallmarks of the distinguished Italian manufacturer's deep heritage. Over nearly 300 years, the company has established a legacy of enduring design — its exquisite handmade serving pieces, tea sets, tableware, vases and more are coveted all over the world.

Richard Ginori traces its long history back to the village of Doccia, Italy, where marchese Carlo Ginori opened the Doccia Porcelain Manufactory in 1735. The factory employed talented Viennese painters and modelers, and although it took time for Carlo to perfect his models and molds, the company eventually became known for its impeccable white porcelain, inspired by Ginori's love of white gold. By 1779, the factory’s refined porcelain decorated palaces and stately residences.

In 1896, the factory expanded and merged with the Società Ceramic Richard of Milan. The new company was named Richard Ginori, and the early 20th century marked a period of artistic revival for the manufacturer.

In 1923, the influential Italian architect, publisher and furniture designer Gio Ponti was appointed as the company's artistic director (a role he held until 1933). He was still a young man at the time, but the now-celebrated polymath was fearless in his efforts to innovate at Richard Ginori — he introduced a contemporary spirit at the manufacturer and integrated ancient Roman art and other neoclassical elements into his richly ornate designs for decorative objects and ceramic vessels. At the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris — the design fair that brought the Art Deco style into the world — both Richard Ginori and its bold artistic director won a Grand Prix.

In the decades that followed, offerings at the storied porcelain manufacturer showed an adoption of the modern style that had taken shape in furniture design and decorative arts during the mid-20th century. In 1954, the company was renamed Ginori 1735, a reference to its inaugural year. Over time, Richard Ginori has partnered with numerous renowned designers such as Giovanni Gariboldi, Antonio Piva, Franco Albini and Aldo Rossi. In 2013, Gucci purchased the Ginori 1735 brand and factory.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Richard Ginori serveware and decorative objects.