Gabriella Crespi Pencil Reed Rattan Arm Chairs, a Pair

Bronze discs that open up like clamshells for storage and fold back in to become side tables. Sleek cubes barely suspended off the ground that transform into full-size dining tables. Clean-lined boxes that contain multilevel shelving. Looking at the work of Italian designer Gabriella Crespi, born in 1922 and who still produced furniture in her Milan studio until her death in 2017, it’s hard to believe that many of these highly functional pieces — modernist Rubik’s Cubes of materials, colors and ergonomics — were created decades ago.

Among her best-known creations, the bronze Ellisse table, 1976, and her bronze-and-lacquer Yang-Yin bar, 1979, encapsulate a designer who had a strong dualism in her vision, mixing humble and precious materials, for instance, or creating geometric shapes that were softened by sensual surfaces. Crespi began studying architecture in 1944 at the Politecnico, in Milan, where she was among just a handful of women, and became profoundly influenced by the work of Charles-Édouard "Le Corbusier" Jeanneret and Frank Lloyd Wright. After getting married and having children, she launched her own collections, from jewelry to furniture, and soon gained a loyal following, with design houses such as Maison Dior snapping pieces up for their own lines.

She began work on her most iconic collection, Plurimi, in the late 1960s, and the series — including her Dama table, which plays on the themes of volume, light and adaptability that Crespi has explored throughout her career — flourished through the 1970s and early ’80s. Then there is her famed Z desk, from a mid-1970s series, which manages to be both stylish and humorous, looking like it’s ready to leap off the floor at any moment. Well-born and beautiful, Crespi garnered attention among the jet set. She was a muse to Valentino, and her pieces appeared in the homes of Princess Grace of Monaco, the Shah of Iran and Greek shipping magnate George Livanos. 

In 1987, with her children now adults, the designer surprised everyone when she moved to the foot of the Indian Himalayas to study with the guru Sri Muniraj. This turned into a 20-year self-imposed exile that, if anything, made her pieces even more sought-after by collectors. 

Todd Hase Furniture, Inc. includes a full collection of upholstery, tables, casegoods, accessories, lighting, and textiles. Designed by Todd Hase, the line is distinctly modern. It uses a classic vocabulary of shapes and lines to offer a pared down, simplified, ultimately usable collection of home furnishings. Old world techniques of manufacturing are applied to these modern products. Eight-way hand tied springs fill upholstered seating and hand fitted marquetry patterns of beautiful veneers enhance tables, casegoods, and lighting. The original Todd Hase showroom opened in 1995 in Soho, New York City. Todd Hase designed products are manufactured in the USA, and shipped both domestically and around the world. In addition to the Todd Hase Collection, Todd Hase hand selects antiques from Paris, France and Mid Century modern furniture and accessories for the Todd Hase | Home showrooms in New York and Palm Beach. The Todd Hase | Home showrooms offer an eclectic mix of Todd Hase Collection furniture and textiles, French antiques, Mid Century modern vintage furniture, lighting, accessories, fine art, and garden furniture. The Todd Hase | Home showrooms and interior design projects have been embraced by celebrity clientele, designers, the press, and home shopping customers alike. Todd Hase | Home showrooms, products, and interior design projects have been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, House and Garden, The New York Times, House Beautiful, and more.