Selling a furniture concept
Casa Brera. Contrary to what this name denotes, it is not some site or historic house museum in Milan, Italy. The Milanese connection is there, yet Casa Brera is rather the name of a designer furniture and accessories showroom in its final stages of...
Casa Brera. Contrary to what this name denotes, it is not some site or historic house museum in Milan, Italy. The Milanese connection is there, yet Casa Brera is rather the name of a designer furniture and accessories showroom in its final stages of completion, in Qormi.
Then again, it is much more than a mere showroom. Casa Brera is actually a concept. Developed by Casa Brera Milano and ForFun Design Studio, this concept is set to revolutionise the classical furniture sales system. It is aimed at the large investor searching for a unified and holistic vision to design and style quality interiors utilising the made-in-Italy-product.
Casa Brera in Malta is moreover set up in collaboration with SAW Ltd - a local contract furniture family business - which backs up the structures of installations, provides after sales service and local administration.
Three words, or rather themes, lie at the root of the Casa Brera sales revolution: Pop is aimed at individuals looking for "extreme tendencies, the taste of novelty and simple furnishings coupled with vivacious fabrics, vibrant colours and modern materials". The Lounge theme is a more "serious yet modern style" characterised by neutral colours which have been the trend of recent years; these colours are in turn complimented by "warm, exotic woods and fabrics". The last theme - Luxe aims towards the "modern tradition for excellence... with rich materials and tones in the scale between white and grey".
These themes have thus inspired the creation of three unique and distinct lifestyles - a quasi package-deal - which is ultimately the core concept sold to customers. Each theme comes with a different price-tag, nevertheless, their 360º vision for interiors ensures competitive prices, and their package-product has already generated very positive interest and feedback from the HSBC Malta Property Expo held last February at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali.
In fact, walking into the "showroom" there is hardly a feel of being within a commercial space in the traditional sense, which "tries" to sell individual items, or a product to its customers. No... this is a miniature apartment, catering from carpets to lighting, wallpaper to shelving, armchairs to fluffy cushions. Moreover, everything is carefully orchestrated and perfectly coordinated. The choice of the colour palettes for the three individual themes is complementary to the choice of materials, and an even, consistent tone is ensured from A to Z. Simplicity and linearity are perhaps two of the best adjectives to describe the Casa Brera concept, which is then coupled with a sense of fun and excellence which lie at the root of the principles surrounding ForFun Designs.
After speaking to Carlo Schembri last September, who constitutes half of the equation comprising the brains behind the Milan-based ForFun Designs partnership - the Times Business met up with Mr Schembri's Italian partner Antonio Zardoni, who explained how he came about being the art director of Casa Brera.
Although he is only 30, Mr Zardoni has been active as an architect and consequently as a designer for 10 years. Meeting Mr Schembri while both reading for their Masters degree in interior and product design from the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, the two worked on projects together as students, slowly collaborating on more challenging endeavours. This eventually led to the founding of ForFun Designs in 2006 and to their long-lasting partnership.
Mr Zardoni describes his working relationship with Mr Schembri as complementary on all levels. He moves on to explain how Casa Brera is a pilot project being tested in Malta, and also a project in which he is very confident and thoroughly believes in. Our product and package, he said, "has been painstakingly assembled and researched to as near as possible to perfection".
Casa Brera can be found at the Handaq Industrial Estate in Qormi.
http://www.casabrera.eu
Then again, it is much more than a mere showroom. Casa Brera is actually a concept. Developed by Casa Brera Milano and ForFun Design Studio, this concept is set to revolutionise the classical furniture sales system. It is aimed at the large investor searching for a unified and holistic vision to design and style quality interiors utilising the made-in-Italy-product.
Casa Brera in Malta is moreover set up in collaboration with SAW Ltd - a local contract furniture family business - which backs up the structures of installations, provides after sales service and local administration.
Three words, or rather themes, lie at the root of the Casa Brera sales revolution: Pop is aimed at individuals looking for "extreme tendencies, the taste of novelty and simple furnishings coupled with vivacious fabrics, vibrant colours and modern materials". The Lounge theme is a more "serious yet modern style" characterised by neutral colours which have been the trend of recent years; these colours are in turn complimented by "warm, exotic woods and fabrics". The last theme - Luxe aims towards the "modern tradition for excellence... with rich materials and tones in the scale between white and grey".
These themes have thus inspired the creation of three unique and distinct lifestyles - a quasi package-deal - which is ultimately the core concept sold to customers. Each theme comes with a different price-tag, nevertheless, their 360º vision for interiors ensures competitive prices, and their package-product has already generated very positive interest and feedback from the HSBC Malta Property Expo held last February at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta' Qali.
In fact, walking into the "showroom" there is hardly a feel of being within a commercial space in the traditional sense, which "tries" to sell individual items, or a product to its customers. No... this is a miniature apartment, catering from carpets to lighting, wallpaper to shelving, armchairs to fluffy cushions. Moreover, everything is carefully orchestrated and perfectly coordinated. The choice of the colour palettes for the three individual themes is complementary to the choice of materials, and an even, consistent tone is ensured from A to Z. Simplicity and linearity are perhaps two of the best adjectives to describe the Casa Brera concept, which is then coupled with a sense of fun and excellence which lie at the root of the principles surrounding ForFun Designs.
After speaking to Carlo Schembri last September, who constitutes half of the equation comprising the brains behind the Milan-based ForFun Designs partnership - the Times Business met up with Mr Schembri's Italian partner Antonio Zardoni, who explained how he came about being the art director of Casa Brera.
Although he is only 30, Mr Zardoni has been active as an architect and consequently as a designer for 10 years. Meeting Mr Schembri while both reading for their Masters degree in interior and product design from the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, the two worked on projects together as students, slowly collaborating on more challenging endeavours. This eventually led to the founding of ForFun Designs in 2006 and to their long-lasting partnership.
Mr Zardoni describes his working relationship with Mr Schembri as complementary on all levels. He moves on to explain how Casa Brera is a pilot project being tested in Malta, and also a project in which he is very confident and thoroughly believes in. Our product and package, he said, "has been painstakingly assembled and researched to as near as possible to perfection".
Casa Brera can be found at the Handaq Industrial Estate in Qormi.
http://www.casabrera.eu