Our company was born in the heart of Tuscany from the creativity of Riccardo Marzi.
Grown among craftsmen – his grandfather was a sculptor and his father was a wood carver – Riccardo studied arts and soon was able to express his creativity in several Florence ateliers in the late Fifties.
His curiosity for new materials compelled him from the start to pursue the arduous feat of “inventing” a new art.
Inspired by fossil ambers, Riccardo grew fond of the notion to utilize the transparency of resin in order to make everyday objects that might preserve indefinitely the beauties that Nature provides.
This is how he started experimenting: his first attempt was to try and make a simple centerpiece with corn grains; in truth the idea seemed not so exciting and inevitably he did not think much of the result, so much so that without further ado he discarded his creation to the backyard of his workshop.
A few days later, while crossing the yard, he noticed in disbelief that a cluster of hens was greedily trying to peck the corn enclosed in the rejected platter; unsuccessfully of course, since the tromp l’oeil effect made them believe that the corn was right there within their reach, while in fact they would never be able to get to it, encased as it was within the transparent resin. The amusing scene was an eye-opener: Riccardo suddenly realized that the same effect that had attracted and deceived the chickens, might just as well intrigue people too!
Therefore this telling episode, bizarre and surreal as it was, encouraged him to pursue his idea further, and little by little he made several prototypes, giving free play to his creativity; doubtless, the Tuscan landscape has proved an inexhaustible source of inspiration: starting with the use of ears of wheat (by now a symbol of the business), of oak and poplar leaves, broom flowers, oats, etc.
With the passing of time and with a growing experience under his belt, Riccardo was able to turn his creativity into a proper trade, and he founded a small craft business.
Today, more than thirty years later, the business has become well established; it has grown in size and of course it has updated; this was possible also thanks to the contribution of Riccardo's son Andrea and daughter Elena; Andrea, the present manager of the business, decided to join his father in the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s he worked hard to build a well structured commercial network in Italy and laid the foundations to tackle international markets too. Elena joined the family business only a few years ago: aware of the countless difficulties that a craft business must face in order to “survive” in the current market climate, Elena decided to take up the challenge because she relized how precious and unique was the trade that her father had been able to “invent” for himself thanks to his creativity.
Today, Riccardo continues to be an invaluable source of new ideas, but most of all he still is the “craftsman with golden hands,” unfailingly able to devise remedies and practical solutions that smoothen the manufacturing process.
tel/fax:+39 0571 676215 - mail:info@marzi.it - P.I. IT 04987910488