Craftmanship

Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier’s furniture and accessories stem from the search for handcrafted beauty. That creative impulse that is generated when man shapes matter and transforms it with their skills and knowledge. That magic that can only arise when hands, mind and heart are used together…

Every object created in Paola Sorio’s Atelier is a tribute to the great schools of applied arts of the early 1900s. The golden age of furniture, when master craftsmen transformed natural materials such as wood, metal and glass into real works of art for everyday use.

Each project is a new challenge for Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier, to be faced with passion and determination until the finished work is achieved. Step by step, slowly but with great precision, selecting the best materials and using the most sophisticated craftsmanship. 

This is how the Atelier’s design pieces are created. Genuine furniture sculptures to be enjoyed every day, to be admired and discovered at every glance.

Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier’s craftsmanship techniques are far removed from any kind of conformism and constantly strive for the highest level of workmanship.

They explore the material in all its forms, its visual aspects, its chromatic declinations, the infinite tactile sensations it offers.

The purpose is to create surfaces with unique, unexpected material effects that arouse strong emotions. Giving the furniture an exclusive character and a distinctive sign makes it unique and different from all the others.

Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier’s collections are characterised by their high level of craftsmanship, a constant search for excellence and sophisticated artisanal techniques.

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METAL CASTING TECHNIQUES

 

Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier has chosen to use the art of casting for some of her creations. A technique as old as metalworking itself. 

This has resulted in an intense collaboration with some historic art foundries. Fascinating and timeless places where unique and beautiful objects take shape. 

Cast bronze objects that are brought to life together with bronze sculptures by the great masters and works by the most famous artists of modern and contemporary art.

A foundry is a magical place that stirs up intense sensory perceptions with its dusty atmosphere, soft colours and the smell of cast metal and wax. 

An exclusive place where an artist’s creativity meets a craftsman’s knowledge. A sort of magic that gives shape to unique, precious objects, intended for a sophisticated audience in constant search of powerful and exclusive beauty.

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BRONZE CASTING

The bronze parts of our furniture are made using the traditional lost-wax technique. A process that has been repeated for centuries and that allows the faithful reproduction of the model conceived and shaped by the artist.

This very complex technique is entrusted to the expertise of the bronze worker. The craftsman’s skilful hands make the wax model, which is covered with a refractory material and fired in the furnace. In the cavities created by the melting of the wax, the incandescent bronze is then poured.

After many hours of cooling, the shape is freed… moments of pure emotion!

The hands of the master craftsmen then carry out the various polishing stages until the mirror finish is achieved. 

A result with a sculptural appearance, a warm colour and a soft, velvety effect.

The legs of the Intrigo table are made of white cast bronze.

ALUMINIUM CASTING

Cast aluminium is characterised by its lightness, its warm feel and its unique colour. The hands of the master craftsmen determine the final effect in the subsequent finishing processes.

We wanted to add a touch of natural inspiration to the four handles of the curved Avalon doors. We were inspired by a tree of Australian origin, the “Kermandie Queen”. A tree that reaches high into the sky, almost dominating the horizon. The twisted shape of its root is the source of inspiration for our cast aluminium handles…

BRASS CASTING

The skilled hands of the craftsmen make the mould using the lost-wax technique and then pour the molten brass into it. After a long cooling process, the material takes shape and is transformed into a sophisticated object of incredible beauty and extraordinary to the touch.

For the Yvonne sideboard, we chose the material and irregular shape of some lava stone flakes. 

Cast brass pieces are transformed into the handle of the central drawer, the knobs and hinges of the side doors. These are not mere details but real jewels set into the furniture.

LIQUID METAL

 

One of the processes that most characterise the Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier collections is the liquid metal coating technique. A real metal coating is applied to the furniture’s surface, which is then refined using long and complex techniques until the desired material effect is achieved.

All liquid metal surfaces are shaped and moulded manually by our craftsmen, so that each piece of furniture becomes an exclusive, one-off piece.

The coating can be achieved in different metal finishes: brass, bronze, copper, steel, manganese and others.

Among the furniture finished in liquid metal, the leading role is played by the imposing King Arthur cabinet and the Queen Avalon double-sided cabinet.  

100 GLOSS BRUSHED LACQUERING

 

As a contrast to material surfaces, Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier also sought a perfectly smooth surface for its furniture that reflected light like never before… 

A machine usually performs polishing. There are very few master craftsmen who are able to achieve a 100-gloss polish by hand, essentially creating a “mirror effect”. 

The “brushing” of the surfaces is carried out manually, in several successive stages, to remove every last residue of the coating powder. 

At the end of this long process, a smooth, polished and perfectly glossy finish is obtained, allowing the beauty of the furniture and accessories to be maximised.

100 gloss lacquer is a light and airy finish, extraordinarily pleasing to the eye and to the touch, as fascinating as it is difficult to achieve.

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PARCHMENT

Parchment furniture upholstery is an ancient technique, enjoying its greatest moment of glory during the Art Deco period. It is a complex process that requires many steps and long and delicate procedures.

Natural parchment is a membrane obtained from animal hides, which are dried, stretched and then smoothed and dyed until they take on a paper-like appearance.

Today, very few craftsmen carry out these processes.  

Each hide is selected and treated through a long and meticulous process, requiring great skill, manual dexterity and aesthetic sensitivity. The parchment is dyed, laid on the furniture and finally protected with a glossy or matt finish that guarantees resistance and impermeability.

Parchment makes each creation unique because each hide is different from the others. Paola Sorio Luxury Design Atelier uses parchment from the black Saanen goat, an animal that lives at high altitudes in a semi-wild state in an unspoilt environment.

The Yvonne sideboard is a piece of furniture completely covered in natural parchment, both outside and inside.