Short supply chain and furnishings that tell the territory: the Veneto company's way of enhancing environmental commitment

There is a special attitude to sustainability that can make the difference in the furniture industry: it is that attention to the environment that is not experienced as an obligation, but comes from a spontaneous vocation, from a set of values of which every piece of furniture becomes an emblematic demonstration. This is the attitude in which the history of Bolzan is reflected, a Veneto excellence in the production of beds with a strong craftsmanship matrix: a company, in the words of CEO Elisabetta Bolzan, that derives its work ethic and its very way of looking at the environment "from love for the Earth and the territory, from the continuous tension to always do better".

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The new Jack-e is a reinterpretation of the first Jack collection designed by Zanellato/Bortotto for Bolzan in 2017. Wanting to create a timeless object that would last as long as possible, the designers chose not to design a new bed, but to revive the original model in a brand new version.

Short supply chain and zero kilometre

Central to this strategic vision is the concept of short supply chain, which in Bolzan's case becomes zero kilometre. The most recent creations in the Bolzan catalogue are in fact a choral tale, an opportunity to trigger and cultivate a virtuous circle that is nourished by the contribution of small and large local excellences, historical realities that share approach and values, recognising each other and all together in a special design.

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At the origin of Jack-e is a simple and minimalist design: the structure, originally in painted metal and now in wood, is composed of two sides on which the tubes of the headboard and footboard are inserted, which, like two rollers, accommodate the upholstery, in fabric or leather, fixing it.

Jack-e, improving production standards

The fruit of this approach is first and foremost Jack-e, the reinterpretation of a classic from the Bolzan catalogue inspired precisely by the idea of sustainability understood as a continuous striving to improve the standards of environmentally conscious production. Wanting to create a timeless object that would last as long as possible, the designers Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto chose not to design a new bed, but to revive the original model, which they had designed five years earlier, in a brand new version that, with fabrics, leather and wood, could tell the story of the excellent craftsmanship of some of the best manufactures in the area between Friuli and Veneto. Thus, instead of the metal of the original edition, ash wood from reforestation and certified was used for the bed frame.

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A bed with a strong craftsmanship matrix, which brings the ancient workmanship of forged iron into the world of design and enhances it with the fabric of a manufacture with a centuries-old history. Bend-e by Zanellato/Bortotto is the re-edition of Bend, a classic from the Bolzan catalogue with contemporary forms.

Artisan excellence

On this base, master craftsman Loris Giacomin applied totally natural dyes: ground earth and stones dissolved in boiling water to form the colour. Following the same track, the eco-sustainable fabric, which evokes the weaving of willows typical of the Sacile landscape and the area between Veneto and Friuli, comes from Torri Lana, a historic fabric factory serving the best international design since the last century, while for the leather variant of the bed, the skins were processed by another historic factory, Conceria Pietro Presot: these skins come from farms that comply with animal welfare regulations and are certified GMO free.

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The investigation into the short supply chain led the designers, during the revisitation of Bend-e, to Torri Lana, a natural fabric factory in the Bergamo area, a reference point for architects and designers since the middle of the last century, with which Bolzan began a collaboration in 2022. An encounter that led the designers to explore the Torri Lana archive for Bolzan, which tells the story of the evolution of Italian textile design over more than a century.

Old workmanship

Sustainability, for Bolzan, also means the recovery of ancient workmanships that industrial evolution has moved away from design over time. For example, the forged iron technique that has been relegated to the production of traditional furniture. Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto's design for the Bend-e bed takes inspiration from furniture of the past made of hand-forged iron and is completed with a selection of natural pigmented waxes applied by hand for the different colours.

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The fabric chosen for Bend-e, Filled, is a cotton and wool composition designed in the 1980s by Jole Gandolini and used, over time, for international fittings and furnishings by great masters.

Shared values

"The path of the short supply chain that becomes the story of the territory is also a way to choose suppliers and collaborators who recognise themselves in our same values," explains Elisabetta Bolzan. For this reason, the contributions of Loris Giacomin, Torri Lana and Conceria Pietro Presot have been joined this year by another one that goes in the same direction: together with Alessandra Salaris, the company has collaborated with Lanificio Bottoli, an excellence of the Veneto manufacturing tradition specialising in the processing of fine and natural wool with environmentally friendly techniques, to produce the Spinapesce plaid in light wool processed from the fleece of Italian flocks and without the use of artificial dyes, bringing a value of circular economy and ecology.

Working on a human scale

But the enhancement of the short supply chain is not the only path that testifies to Bolzan's focus on environmental issues. "In the company, we are faithful to an idea of sustainability that means first and foremost supporting and sustaining ourselves, and we strive every day to ensure that our workers and employees work in healthy, human-scale places and experience the factory and the office as a second home," concludes the ceo. "For this reason, we have become a benefit company in 2022 and are striving to become a B-Corporation".

#Furniture #Design #Beds #Fabrics
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