One foot still rests firmly in the past, in tradition and in the good name that has always been associated with the high quality standards the company has built up over time. The other is already projected forward, into the future, to take its first steps in new, hitherto unexplored directions.
It is called MFDesign and the name is borrowed right from the ... future. Because M and F are the initials of Massimiliano and Federico, the two sons of Paolo Zago and Isabella Chieregato, who joined the company a year ago to bring, along with their skills, a breath of fresh air. It is also thanks to them that the company, for years known under the insignia of "Antico è," aims at modernizing itself to keep up with the times always striving for the high quality of its products.
Isabella Chieregato says: "After the first 19 years have passed,
grown-up children come along and the need arises
for a transition at a stage that is a harbinger of new ideas.
We have combined our experience and woodworking skills with their knowledge. For the moment they are standing and starting off quietly: they are learning the secrets of processing. The intention though is to push in a direction that is no longer just flooring. We also want to focus more on furnishings, furniture, countertops, and paneling such as wainscoting.
Approaching MFDesign in the industrial area of Gresal, in the municipality of Sedico, the unmistakable shape and color of its headquarters immediately stand out. The latest intervention, carried out in 2008, gave the company an avant-garde building, clad externally in Tecu Patina, an already oxidized copper whose behavior resembles that of wood, while contrasting it chromatically. Even in the choice of materials, the intention of the firm (which employs about 15 people) to place itself in a high quality market segment is evident.
But the perception of quality," the owner explains, "has greatly declined as a result of globalization. By now the customer is increasingly moved by the idea, 'I have to like it, but it has to be cheap.' This has inevitably diminished Italian productions that have to deal with very high costs and, of course, a very high value of the final product."
MFDesign recovers, restores and reuses wood, giving life to floors, boiseries, false ceilings, roof trusses. The 2008 crisis led the company to push the envelope even further. MFDesign recovers, restores and reuses wood, giving life to floors, boiseries, false ceilings, roof trusses. The 2008 crisis led the company to push the envelope even further.
We told ourselves: either we keep the value of Italian craftsmanship high, or we have no future, he said. Turnover has dropped to a quarter of what it used to be, but we are proud to be able to say that we have never laid anyone off. Unfortunately, competitors abroad often enjoy subsidies to open businesses, lower taxes, and labor and electricity that cost very little."
MFDesign IS NOT JUST A FLOORING MANUFACTURER.
We always guarantee installation service and after-sales service both immediately and after many years. We provide on-site service, from design help to technical support. And let's not forget about certifications. Our products are all FSC and PEFC certified. In our products, the volatile emissions given by the products used, such as glues, paints and oils, are essentially zero.
Over the years, "Antico è" first, MFDesign later, has found itself meeting requests of all kinds, even collaborating with the likes of Moncler and Bulgari. Among the most experimental techniques adopted in recent years is the Japanese-derived technique of working wood with fire. No less distinctive is the work MFDesign has pursued with Venice's briccole (the wooden poles used to guide boats and signal low tide in the lagoon).
Bricole's is a wood found everywhere in Venice that tells the story of the city. It is periodically replaced because, as it remains in the water, it tends to rot. We cut off the part left in the water and work the part that had been out and the one in the sand. The work of the sea gives the wood absolutely distinctive colors, ranging from gray-pink to gold. Bricole woodworking is certainly one of our flagships.
LOOK AT THE VIDEO INTERVIEW