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Enzo Catellani: Founder of Catellani & Smith
- Style Essentials Edit Team
- Oct 14
- 6 min read
Founded in 1989, Catellani & Smith has become one of Italy’s most distinctive voices in lighting design. Handmade in Bergamo, every piece reflects Enzo Catellani’s belief that light should move beyond function into poetry. With iconic works like Fil de Fer and sculptural collections that blur craft and art, the brand has earned global recognition while staying true to its artisanal roots. In this exclusive interview for Design Diary, Enzo Catellani speaks about the philosophy, inspirations, and spirit that continue to shape Catellani & Smith.
Catellani & Smith was founded in 1989, almost as a spontaneous experiment. How did those early years shape the brand’s identity?
More than a spontaneous experiment, it all began in an unexpected way, almost like a miracle. I started building my lamps without knowing if I would ever sell them. Having come into contact with the lighting world and its key players at the end of the 1970s, I began studying how materials interacted with light and created my first models in my small workshop, assembling components, welding, and shaping materials. Later on, I had the opportunity to present these objects to an international audience on the occasion of the Ambiente Fair in Frankfurt. These first entirely handmade lamps achieved immediate success, resulting in more than 1,400 orders. To fulfill those orders, I had to enlarge my production and found Catellani & Smith, which continues to reflect my personal idea of a company built on the value of Made in Italy and artisanal craftsmanship.
In the following years, new collections joined those first “Timeless Objects”: Luci d’Oro, Stchu-Moon, Lucenera, Fil de Fer, PostKrisi… composed of handmade articles. Even today, as at the beginning of my career, when I create a new lamp, the starting point is not a drawing but a prototype, because the idea must immediately take shape and become an object, the result of a craftsman’s work. Only afterwards does the actual design phase begin: feasibility, technical features, and so on.
Since 1989, things have changed with the growth of the company, increased production, continuous attention to the most innovative technologies, and extensive research that has allowed us to patent innovative solutions for making our lamps—but Catellani & Smith lamps are still made in Italy, in our workshops along the river Serio, near Bergamo, and they are still entirely handmade.
Catellani & Smith lamps are often described as poetic, sculptural, and expressive. How do you translate these qualities into design?
The creative process stems from the desire to create “illuminating objects” capable of producing an emotional, engaging, delicate, decorative, and relaxing light, while at the same time being objects able to personalize the room and the space in which they are placed. The study of how different materials interact with light has given rise to many diverse collections, but shapes, finishes, colors, and lighting effects all express my research into light in different forms—from minimal and poetic lamps that emit a delicate glow (i.d. Light Stick, For You...) to more technical lamps like Lucenera and finally to sculptural objects that diffuse light or create surprising effects on a wall (PostKrisi, Ensō...). As I mentioned earlier, it is an idea of light that takes shape in my mind, and then I need to translate it into an object.
What does “handmade” mean in your practice, compared to industrial production?
Our production consists of pieces that require significant artisanal work, giving life to lamps that are unique in every detail. Unlike industrial production, which is based on repetition and standardization, our handmade approach relies on the uniqueness of the artisan’s hand working each piece, making it one of a kind. Catellani & Smith lamps are not mass-produced, nor made from molds or using energy-intensive machinery, but from the manual work of our skilled artisans.
Even small imperfections do not represent flaws but characteristics of craftsmanship, since it is the artisans’ hands—with their experience, sensitivity, and attention—that transform each lamp into an object “with a soul.” Moreover, we do not keep stock in our warehouse; we make each lamp to order, which allows us to be more flexible in meeting the needs of clients and the requests made by professionals for custom lamps. In our workshops, there is no assembly line or repetitive work all day long; instead, our collaborators alternate between the various phases of production and work in large workshops with parquet floors, wooden furniture, and background music. Therefore, we give each lamp the necessary time to ensure its quality, without any rush.
Which material has surprised you the most for its creative possibilities?
Considering the last years, I would say that brass has surprised us the most for the endless creative possibilities it offers. It can be drawn, milled, turned, laser-cut, engraved, or spun; it can be purchased in bars, tubes, sheets, or wires of any section. Brass materials allow for both lightweight structures and heavy elements, according to the various needs. It can be welded, given galvanic finishes, and painted, and it is an excellent electrical conductor. We are forgetting some of its qualities, and we will continue to discover new possibilities with this material.
Fil de Fer has become a symbol of Catellani & Smith. What makes it timeless, and how has it evolved since its creation?
Fil de Fer is a timeless creation, recognized as a work of ingenuity worthy of copyright protection for its creative and artistic value. Aluminum wire is shaped and intertwined to create a sphere illuminated by numerous light points, capable of generating evocative lighting effects. It is a lamp that recalls the universe with its countless stars. It is a sculptural object, despite the lightness of its structure. It captures attention, creates unique atmospheres, and can be placed in both classically furnished interiors and modern homes, private residences, renowned hotels, and public spaces. I believe this versatility is the key to its success, which has made it the company’s icon.
The project dates back about 25 years: I was asked to design a light fixture that was lightweight yet voluminous for Palazzo Poli, near the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Among the prototypes I created for the project—though not the one I installed, which is still placed in the Dante Room of the Palace—there was a sphere, born almost spontaneously while working with iron wire. This prototype gave birth to the Fil de Fer lamp, which takes its name from “iron wire”: it is a sphere entirely handmade by our artisans, who bend the aluminum wire and weave it into a spherical shape and then insert, one by one, the tiny bulbs.
The original iron wire was soon replaced by aluminum wire, known for being more malleable and luminous; Fil de Fer quickly achieved enormous success worldwide and is now part of the permanent collection of Italian Design at the Triennale Design Museum and the Expo Museum in Shanghai, as well as the "Quirinale Contemporaneo" collection located in the Palace of the Presidency of the Italian Republic in Rome.
Fil de Fer has also been developed in different models and sizes, including outdoor versions and a gold anodized finish. Just to mention a few of them: in the Uomo della Luce lamp, the sphere is supported by the sculptural arms of an iron silhouette; in smaller dimensions, the sphere becomes Sweet Light, which turns on/off with a simple touch; in the Nuvola model, it takes on a new shape, as in Cascata or Corrimano. We have also made custom-made versions of Fil de Fer for special projects, in large dimensions.
What are your main markets? Are there differences in how your designs are received in Europe, Asia, and North America?
In addition to Italy, which accounts for about 30% of turnover, the remaining 70% comes mainly from European markets: Germany—the first country to appreciate my creations—France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Outside Europe, Asia is the most significant area, particularly China, Hong Kong, and India. Some markets prefer specific collections or finishes, but overall, the spread of our best sellers is quite consistent.
What are you currently exploring in the studio? Any new directions, materials, or inspirations?
Currently, we are exploring various ideas without a specific direction. This year (2025), in April, we presented our latest collection (Pòta!) at the Euroluce international fair in Milan, and now we are working on our next lamps. At this initial stage, we are evaluating various possibilities, studying different materials, and assessing potential solutions. If we consider our different collections, we may say that our lamps were born from a new light source such as LEDs (Atman, Light-Stick, Lederam, Petites Bijoux, Pòta!), or from the interaction between light and a new material (Stchu-Moon, Fil de Fer, PostKrisi, Luci d’Oro, etc.), or by applying innovative and patented systems of electrical energy distribution (Enso, Pòta!, etc.). Therefore, we will evaluate our new projects in relation to these three main areas: light source, materials, and electrical distribution system.
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