Serendipity Supernova

I am a firm believer in destiny and things happening for a reason. This ethos is what keeps me going with my journey and passions, trials and successes.  In this case, I have never been more fortunate to experience a right time, right place moment. I do love the Turkish word for this, Kismet.

Through industry bible, Yellowtrace, I discovered a company and product collection that resonated so strongly with Byzantine Design that I simply had to secure the brand for Australia. Milan Design Week was showcased on Yellowtrace, and Botteganove was introduced. Fifteen innovative brands had the opportunity to showcase their designs and style in an abandoned Milanese house filled with original dimensions and character. The exhibition was entitled Ladies and Gentlemen, with the theme of reimagining traditional artisanal techniques in a contemporary way to reinvigorate and inspire modern designers.

Plumage, now available at Byzantine Design

New kids on the block, Botteganove contributed a truly beautiful range called Plumage. The inspiration was capturing the textural way birds’ feathers overlap to reveal patterns, colours and shapes. This overlapping technique lends the tiled wall the perception of the single feather and an entire wall covered with individual plumage simultaneously. The brand sings to me, with its sublime way of blending artisans’ traditions with a thoroughly modern vision throughout its ceramic and porcelain mosaic tiles. The collection has two different shapes within this range of tiles that are handmade and inspired by two feather patterns. The two collections can be both in ceramic with handmade decoration and in Limoges porcelain, dyed in the clay. And, the glazes are beyond anything I have seen before, they really need to be seen to be believed.

You can read what Yellowtrace had to say about the exhibition here.

Plumage, now available at Byzantine Design

Now that you are in awe of a product so fresh and so creative, let me introduce you to Cristina Celestino, my new designer crush! She wears the “hats” of both the designer and art director for the brand, so she is enmeshed in the entire brand's’ approach to development and how the products can be used in design projects, while curating the creative direction of the brand. Her background serves her well; Cristina has worked in design since 2010, she graduated as an architect in 2005 and has collaborated with numerous companies for the last six years. She has also developed personal research projects for her own brand, Attico. Her products have joined the Permanent Collection of Italian Design of the Triennale in Milan and has participated in many exhibitions and events in Italy and internationally.

Cristina Celestino & Christian Pegoraro

The founder of Botteganove, Christian Pegoraro, has grown up amongst pottery, plaster moulds and kilns and as a result has created a company that specialises in the production of some of the most beautiful tiles I have ever seen. He has developed a dynamic approach to design procedures and is simply a joy to work with. We are so excited to include them in the Byzantine Design family.

Clinker Range, now available at Byzantine Design

So, yep, these babies are now available in Australia exclusively through Byzantine Design!  Patience is definitely required for these special mosaic tiles.  Each Botteganove collection, including Plumage is all hand made by artisans in Italy to order, so each order can take up to 16 weeks. They are genuinely a piece of art for your walls, worthy of their place at any design gallery in the world. Pricing is reflective of the work that goes into making these tiles.  

We have started specifying it already, with some new ranges and displays to come early next year. Stay tuned and visit us in store to get up close and personal with this beautiful brand.

That's it from us for this week, 'til next time our tile obsessed friends... 

XOXO Byzantine Design  

Changing the World one tile at a time.