Upwardly mobile: Arper

Muscling your way into the club of Italy’s firmly established furniture brands is no easy task, but one that Trevisan firm Arper has managed in double-quick time. Established by the Feltrin family in 1989, Arper has grown rapidly into a global force, with 260 employees and a turnover in 2018 of €72.4 million. The company collaborates with some of the world’s top international designers, who each bring a unique approach and insight to the creative process. Together, they have developed an identity and a collection with global appeal, which is presented in 11 showrooms around the world and through a network of dealers located in 90 countries.

As with all the best Italian labels, design is key to Arper’s business philosophy. The company’s design ethos is 'based on the versatility of essential forms', and this pared-back approach is evident in many of its most popular pieces. These products combine simple shapes with playful details and create families of objects with a common design DNA. Arper’s background in manufacturing means it is also able to develop and deliver products that benefit from the very best in traditional craftsmanship and contemporary processes. Proprietary factories in Italy and the US allow the company to provide a full range of production capabilities, including upholstery, carpentry and metalwork.

Across all of its production, Arper applies sustainability criteria to ensure a continuous improvement of the environmental performance of its products. The firm established a dedicated environmental department in 2005 to oversee improvements to its manufacturing processes. It uses Life Cycle Assessment to analyse the environmental performance of materials and processes at every stage of their creation and use, and is also compliant with some of the major international quality and sustainability standards.

Arper has obtained FSC certification, which is an independent, third-party international certification issued by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which guarantees the maximum traceability of wood. The examination applies to the entire path followed by the material (the so-called Chain of Custody), from the forest to the consumer.

This dedication to protecting the environment demonstrates that Arper is a company that looks to the future. Further evidence of this can be seen in its support for a wide range of both local and global cultural initiatives and organisations, including London’s Design Museum, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy’s pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale and the Bailo Museum, part of the Civic Museums circuit of Treviso. By promoting greater awareness of design and sustainability, Arper is aiming to create a better world for future generations.

© Architonic