BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL

If I ever going to buy a piece of art, spend a lot of fortune on it, I’ll make sure that it won’t just stand there collecting dust. If it’s that beautiful to look at, it should be useful as well. Of course, use with lots of care.

Attending the launch of Flora Di Fornasetti by Fornasetti at The Papilion, Jakarta, last Monday on the fifth of November 2012, was like visiting a contemporary art gallery indeed. Beautiful and unique pieces of Fornasetti are everywhere, from tables sets, trays, vases to scented decorative objects.

“Fornasetti’s production is endless. From ceramics, porcelain, vases, home and fragrance collection, wallpaper, rugs, tiles to jewelry. Buying a piece of Fornasetti is like buying a piece of art that will increase its’ value from time to time,” said Gabriele Ferrero, Head of Global Sales & Marketing Fornasetti.

“We have an atelier in Milan, so we produced in Italy. Yes, we do have many selections, from small chests, tables, stools and chairs that are useful, comfortable and beautiful. We believe that we have to create any kind of products that you use for your house and in your life. Put one Fornasetti’s piece inside the room, and it will immediately give the room a sense of art,” he added.

Gabriele and his colleague, Laurent Delafon, CEO United Perfumes, were in town to introduce the second scent from Fornasetti home fragrance. “Our scented decorative objects are very Fornasetti, beautiful and useful. For example, the candles which are made of vegetable wax which can burn up to 60 hours. The candles’ vessel are made of ceramics hand made in Italy, and after the wax is finished, we can put anything inside the empty vessel, or just leave it like that as a décor on your cabinet,” Laurent explained.

Their luxurious scented candle really makes a great focus piece with its’ unique design. The uniqueness doesn’t stop there. They have different packaging and method for home fragrances, but only one scent, at least until now. “Before there were only one scent, named OTTO. It was conceived by master perfumer Olivier Polge, a Fornasetti collector himself. He was the nose behind fragrances like Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Dior Homme and Viktor and Rolf. He captured the smell of Fornasetti’s house, like the scent of antique furniture, fireplace and old paper archives. It’s very much around woods and incense,” added Laurent.

Fornasetti does have incense sticks as one of their home fragrance collection. It’s a Japanese incense stick made from cherry wood base mixed with OTTO fragrance. Use one stick (will burn about 20 minutes) to get rid of cooking or smoking smell. It’s (again) an unique and different method to scent your home with a touch of fun art. Fornasetti do have the incense box and scent sphere, a very stylish alternative to traditional home fragrance.

And now, they do have alternative for the scent as well, Flora Di Fornasetti. If the first fragrance was inspired by inside the house of Fornasetti, this time, it was inspired by outside the house, the garden. In the form of a scented candle, it is lighter and more fresh than OTTO, their first fragrance. “Lots of different flowers such as white rose and gardenia, captured and put in inside the candle,” said Laurent.

I can’t help myself attracted to the image of the vessel of Flora Di Fornasetti. It is the beautiful enigmatic face of the opera singer, Lina Cavalieri, which Piero Fornasetti (the founder of Fornasetti) found by flipping through a 19th century French magazine. FYI, he was so fascinated by her face, he took her as a muse and used them again and again throughout his career.

For more about Fornasetti history, collection and images, please visit: www.fornasetti.com