Kartell Upper Step Ladder in Crystal by Alberto Meda, Paolo Rizzatto
About the Item
- Creator:Alberto Meda, Paolo Rizzatto (Designer),Kartell (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.75 in (78.11 cm)Width: 18.15 in (46.11 cm)Depth: 22.88 in (58.12 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Aluminum,Polished
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:2-3 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:
Kartell
The Italian design giant Kartell transformed plastic from the stuff of humble household goods into a staple of luxury design in the 1960s. Founded in Milan by Italian chemical engineer Giulio Castelli (1920–2006) and his wife Anna Ferrieri (1918–2006), Kartell began as an industrial design firm, producing useful items like ski racks for automobiles and laboratory equipment designed to replace breakable glass with sturdy plastic. Even as companies like Olivetti and Vespa were making Italian design popular in the 1950s, typewriters and scooters were relatively costly, and Castelli and Ferrieri wanted to provide Italian consumers with affordable, stylish goods.
They launched a housewares division of Kartell in 1953, making lighting fixtures and kitchen tools and accessories from colorful molded plastic. Consumers in the postwar era were initially skeptical of plastic goods, but their affordability and infinite range of styles and hues eventually won devotees. Tupperware parties in the United States made plastic storage containers ubiquitous in postwar homes, and Kartell’s ingenious designs for juicers, dustpans, and dish racks conquered Europe. Kartell designer Gino Colombini was responsible for many of these early products, and his design for the KS 1146 Bucket won the Compasso d’Oro prize in 1955.
Buoyed by its success in the home goods market, Kartell introduced its Habitat division in 1963. Designers Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper created the K1340 (later called the K 4999) children’s chair that year, and families enjoyed their bright colors and light weight, which made them easy for kids to pick up and move. In 1965, Joe Colombo (1924–78) created one of Kartell’s few pieces of non-plastic furniture, the 4801 chair, which sits low to the ground and comprised of just three curved pieces of plywood. (In 2012, Kartell reissued the chair in plastic.) Colombo followed up on the success of the 4801 with the iconic 4867 Universal Chair in 1967, which, like Verner Panton’s S chair, is made from a single piece of plastic. The colorful, stackable injection-molded chair was an instant classic. That same year, Kartell introduced Colombo’s KD27 table lamp. Ferrierei’s cylindrical 4966 Componibili storage module debuted in 1969.
Kartell achieved international recognition for its innovative work in 1972, when a landmark exhibition curated by Emilio Ambasz called “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” opened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. That show introduced American audiences to the work of designers such as Gaetano Pesce; Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Group; and the firms Archizoom and Superstudio (both firms were among Italy's Radical design groups) — all of whom were using wit, humor and unorthodox materials to create a bracingly original interior aesthetic.
Castelli and Ferrieri sold Kartell to Claudio Luti, their son-in-law, in 1988, and since then, Luti has expanded the company’s roster of designers.
Kartell produced Ron Arad’s Bookworm wall shelf in 1994, and Philippe Starck’s La Marie chair in 1998. More recently, Kartell has collaborated with the Japanese collective Nendo, Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola and glass designer Tokujin Yoshioka, among many others. Kartell classics can be found in museums around the world, including MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In 1999, Claudio Luti established the Museo Kartell to tell the company’s story, through key objects from its innovative and colorful history.
Find vintage Kartell tables, seating, table lamps and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Perth Amboy, NJ
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Kartell Upper Step Ladder in Cobalt by Alberto Meda, Paolo RizzattoBy KartellLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stepladder has a strong personality and great functionality. It is also a successful marriage of form and function. Its pragmatism is made possible by the technology employed by...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ladders
MaterialsAluminum
- Kartell Upper Step Ladder in Orange Red by Alberto Meda, Paolo RizzattoBy KartellLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stepladder has a strong personality and great functionality. It is also a successful marriage of form and function. Its pragmatism is made possible by the technology employed by...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ladders
MaterialsAluminum
- Kartell Upper Step Ladder in Citron in Yellow by Alberto Meda & Paolo RizzattoBy KartellLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stepladder has a strong personality and great functionality. It is also a successful marriage of form and function. Its pragmatism is made possible by the technology employed by...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ladders
MaterialsAluminum
- Kartell Jolly Side Table in Crystal by Paolo RizzattoBy Paolo Rizzatto, KartellLocated in Brooklyn, NYA completely transparent small side table in the perfect size: 40x40x40 cm. Colourful, practical, safe and functional, Jolly is a versatile and fun side table...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsPlastic
- Kartell Aledin Tec Desk Lamp in Crystal by Alberto e Francesco MedaBy Francesco Meda, Kartell, Alberto MedaLocated in Brooklyn, NYAledin Tec has a flat head which throws a direct luminous beam and is also adjustable thanks to the movement of the diffuser itself. These characteristics make it suitable for office...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPlastic
- Kartell Aledin Dec Desk Lamp in Crystal by Alberto e Francesco MedaBy Kartell, Francesco Meda, Alberto MedaLocated in Brooklyn, NYAledin Dec is defined by the faceted decoration of its cone-shaped diffuser. The luminous beam throws a wider and more atmospheric light which well lends itself to residential applic...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPlastic
- Slingsby Medium Step LadderBy Slingsby of EnglandLocated in Alton, GBAn original wooden Slingsby step ladder in medium size, consists of three steps and the fourth tray top. The ladder closes by two metal hinges either side ...Category
Early 20th Century English Ladders
MaterialsWood
- Simplex Large Step LadderBy SimplexLocated in Alton, GBAn original large simplex wooden step ladder in a bold red wash, consists of seven steps. The ladder closes by two metal hinges either side of the l...Category
Antique Late 19th Century Ladders
MaterialsWood
- Aged Painters Step LadderLocated in Alton, GBPainters stepladder with a natural aged patina.Category
20th Century Ladders
MaterialsWood
- Rustic Antique Swedish Step LadderLocated in Dallas, TXRustic Antique Swedish Step Ladder is a reminder of a bygone era, long before the days of Home Depot and Ace Hardware! When one lived out in a rural area an...Category
Antique Late 19th Century Swedish Rustic Architectural Elements
MaterialsOak
- 19th Century Expandable English Mahogany Library Bed StepLocated in Forney, TXA wonderful, rare, antique expandable English mahogany bed step from the 19th century. Features an extending lower step with an inset tooled leather panel...Category
Antique 19th Century Stools
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Paint Splattered Simplex Safety Step LadderBy SimplexLocated in Chillerton, Isle of WightPaint splattered simplex safety step ladder This is a very useful and marvelous looking piece, the step ladder has 2 good long upright grab handles, it has a the Simplex snap acti...Category
Antique Early 1900s Industrial Ladders
MaterialsPine