Poltrona Frau

About

Poltrona Frau is an Italian furniture manufacturer known for leather furniture and leather craftsmanship, based in Tolentino, in the Marche region of central Italy. Its catalogue centres on leather armchairs and sofas and extends to broader furniture and to interiors for cars, aircraft, yachts and public spaces. The company name combines "poltrona," the Italian word for armchair, with the surname of its founder. The company was founded in 1912 by Renzo Frau, who was born in Sardinia, in Turin. It moved its base to Tolentino in the early 1960s, where it has remained. From the outset the company specialised in leather seating, and it is known for a labour-intensive leather process and for furniture that is largely hand-made. Several of Poltrona Frau's designs are long-running. The Chester armchair and sofa, with deep buttoned leather upholstery in the English Chesterfield tradition, appeared in the company's earliest catalogue, and the Vanity Fair armchair (originally known as model 904) is another enduring design that has been produced in numerous variations. These leather seats are central to the company's identity. Beyond its own furniture, Poltrona Frau is known for "interiors in motion" — applying its leatherwork to the interiors of cars, aircraft, boats and auditoriums, working with manufacturers in the automotive and transport sectors. This contract and bespoke side of the business sits alongside its residential furniture collections. In 2014 the American manufacturer Haworth acquired a controlling interest in Poltrona Frau, and the company heads the Poltrona Frau Group within Haworth's Lifestyle Design division, which also includes brands such as Cassina and Cappellini. Poltrona Frau's products are sold internationally through its own showrooms and dealers, used in residential, contract and transport settings. As an Italian leather-furniture maker founded in 1912, it combines a long craft tradition with a place in a larger international design group.