Magis

About

Magis is an Italian design company that produces furniture and household objects, often in plastic and other industrial materials, developed in collaboration with a wide range of international designers. Based in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy, it describes itself as a kind of design "publishing house," bringing together the work of many designers under one brand. Its catalogue spans chairs, tables, stools, storage and accessories for residential, contract and outdoor use. The company was founded in 1976 by Eugenio Perazza, in Motta di Livenza, near Venice. From the start it focused on combining industrial production techniques with design, working with external designers rather than an in-house style, and it became known for technically ambitious use of materials such as moulded and air-moulded plastics, as well as metal and wood. Magis has collaborated with many of the best-known names in international design, including Jasper Morrison, Konstantin Grcic, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Marc Newson, Naoto Fukasawa, Marcel Wanders, Philippe Starck and Thomas Heatherwick, among others. This roster reflects the company's role as a producer that realises designers' ideas through industrial manufacturing. Several Magis products are widely recognised. The Air-Chair by Jasper Morrison, produced from 2000 using air-moulding technology, is a lightweight stacking polypropylene chair, while the Spun chair by Thomas Heatherwick (2010) is a rotational-moulded seat with a spinning-top form that the sitter can rock and rotate. The company also produces the Me Too collection of children's furniture, extending its design approach to products for younger users. Magis's products are aimed at residential, contract and outdoor settings and are sold internationally through design retailers, showrooms and online channels. As an Italian design company built around collaboration and industrial production, Magis is known for translating the work of leading designers into widely produced furniture and objects.