18 March 2011

Italian manufacturer Sicis at Coverings

I make no secret of the fact that I love fine-art mosiacs. Even though they're a different category all together, I have a great fondness for mosaics produced in a more production-oriented environment too. A longtime favorite among these mosaic factories is Ravenna-based Sicis.

Sicis' work provocative and it's wonderful to see an Italian company doing business all over the world with a consistent, in-your-face marketing message and the goods to back it up. Nobody does production mosaics in glass anywhere near what Sicis does and it was a great thrill to see them at Coverings this week in Las Vegas.

Sicis rolled out six new color stories at the show this week and were kind enough to provide me with clear photographs of each. Sicis works in very large formats. Here's one of my photos of their booth in Las Vegas. It's Easier to appreciate the work in isolation though.


There were six new color stories as I mentioned earlier and the vignette above is showing how they presented Tango.  Here are a couple of their official shots that show off the thinking behind Tango.




Next up was Gypsy.


Followed closely by neutral but still interesting Mink.




Here's one of my close ups from the Mink display.


The chiaroscuro in the Skyline color story lends itself to the old world as well as it does the new.



Savile has me rethinking everything I think I think about grey.



And if Sicis can't poke you in the eye with an image, they're do it with a name. This is Nude.



Great job Sicis. What do you guys think? Could you imagine using some of the room-sized installations these patterns and color stories are intended for?

13 comments:

  1. I once speced Sicis to cover the base of a large curving built-in banquette. Sadly, the client was too timid. Such a great product.

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  2. Their stuff always makes me swoon. Have you ever been in their Manhattan show room?

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  3. The booth this year seemed somehow lack luster for me. Maybe it was because the booth was empty, not sure.

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  4. It was empty? Every time I walked through it it was packed. What days were you at the show?

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  5. Simply beautiful.

    Do you guys have any idea how lucky you are to be exposed to this sort of product? I'd almost give my right arm for access to this kind of variety. Because I'm in this isolated corner of Canada (yes, Seattle's very close, but there's this damn border in the way!) our product selection is so amazingly limited.

    Thanks for making me feel left out Paul! ;-)

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  6. Really Arne? You can't get your hands on Sicis glass? There has to be a work around available to you. I'm surprised to hear that about Vancouver, and Sicis makes such a production out of being world brand. Hmmm.

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  7. I was there on Tuesday and stopped in the afternoon to the SICIS booth.I am probably a little skewed in my viewpoint. I just think New Ravenna blows them out of the water.

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  8. I'm a huge fan of Sara and her team as well but I put them in another category all together. Sicis is mass distributed and churns their stuff out my the container-full. New Ravenna on the other hand retains its artisan feel and flair. If you ever find yourself along the eastern seaboard go to New Ravenna's facility in Exmore, VA. They're an amazing group of people.

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  9. OOhhh, I love tile mosaic. I think that it appeals to my inner mathematician. I would love to get my hands on piles of those little tiles and create something with pixely bits of colour like that :)

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  10. I think that's why they hit me the way that they do.

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  11. I love a man who knows the difference between mass produced and hand made mosaics and loves them all! Thanks for schooling folks so well!

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  12. All I do is just parrot back everything you've ever taught me Nancie, so all thanks go to you!

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  13. Referencing Arne Salvesen’s query about Sicis in Vancouver, since Country Floors ‘exodus’ from Canada – a one-time Sicis distributor in the major Canadian markets of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto – the Ravenna (Italy) company’s footprint has vaporized to all but limited regional exposure, almost exclusively within Quebec.

    Trend USA / Trend SpA (Italia), wonderfully showcased in Paul Anater’s weblog links (below), in my biased opinion – as their Canadian Regional Sales Manager – is no less an equal in their masterful creative prowess of glass mosaic applications and invention. Samara Gould (Trend USA Artistic Director) is divinely skilled in her craft as are the artisanal capabilities of Trend’s own “Tesseristas”.

    You’ll find Trend’s price points appreciably competitive, and the fact they still manufacturer their own proprietary glass collections in-house (corporate-owned factories) rather than farming out to third parties, their typically expeditious production lead-time, quality control and execution is unrivalled.

    Trend’s Artistic program – made-to-order mosaic murals – is available exclusively to the architectural and design trade through Stone Tile Pacific (International) in Vancouver.

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