Italian brand Baxter is the combination of experience and passion, business know-how and a desire not to follow the rules. Working closely with designers from Piero Lissoni to Paola Navone and Studiopepe, Baxter bridges the tradition and innovation of Italian leather production to make the material the hero of every collection.
Evoking the spirit and feeling of the 'Made in Italy' philosophy Baxter’s founders Luigi Bestetti, and his nephew Paolo Bestetti, describe their work as “the story of encounters, ideas, but above all of people”. Drawing on the traditions of Italian leather making but transforming the craft through research and experimentation, Baxter brings the best out of the materials and the designers they collaborate with.
The first sofa was made from a unique leather considered too thick to use for furniture by the tanneries. It was this challenge that created the prototype for the first design called Alfred, a Chester-style sofa where the feel and comfort of thick leather is its defining feature. That discovery inside a tiny tannery in regional Italy would become the alchemy for every collection to follow.
"So, the tannery turns into an alchemist’s lab”, remarks Luigi Bestetti. “You try, you experiment, sometimes you are wrong, but then you start again. From that moment we would study the full potential of materials which have become the core of Baxter’s research.”
The Miami Roll designed by Paola Navone has a simple clarity. Its soft, comfortable seat has fluffy cushions and rolls in goose down. Photo c/o Baxter.
“...the story of encounters, ideas, but above all of people.”
Luigi Bestetti
The Bruxelles armchair designed by Paola Navone for Baxter. Photo c/o Baxter.
Detail of the raw finished leather that characterises the detail of the Bruxelles armchair. Photo c/o Baxter.
The Chester Moon sofa designed by Paola Navone was born from a reinterpretation of the classic English 'Chester'. Photo c/o Baxter.
The Lazybones armchair by Studiopepe for Baxter. Photos c/o Baxter.
Lazybones with the Jupiter table also by Studiopepe. PHoto c/o Baxter.
The Budapest sofa designed by Paola Navone for Baxter. Photo c/o Baxter.
A detail of the Budapest sofa; the leather patinated and dyed as if it was fabric. Photo c/o Baxter.
The Brigitte sofa designed by Draga and Aurel for Baxter. Photos c/o Baxter.
The Nepal chair was designed by Paola Navone and is upholstered in Mongolian sheepskin. Photo c/o Baxter.
The Piaf sofa designed by Baxter. Photo c/o Baxter.
The Fold sofa conceals its support at the back. Designed by Vincenzo De Cotiis. Photo c/o Baxter.
Designed by Piero Lissoni, Diner is the "expression of a timeless elegance and represents the continuous research of a formal essence and pure shapes". Photo c/o Baxter.
The Viktor sofa designed by Draga and Aurel offers a wide selection of interesting compositional solutions. Photos c/o Baxter.
The Damasco sofa designed by Paolo Navone is deconstructed and oversized, The seating is comfortable and enveloping, characterised by upholstery sewn with a raw cut. Photos c/o Baxter.
Alfred, Baxter's first sofa inspired by a classic 'chester' and designed by Marco Milisich in 1997. Photo c/o Baxter.
“I definitely think this leather has got an informal and very sensual aspect, being attractive also for all those people who have never loved leather. We can say that the ideas to develop new collections are born from a synthesis between the research that Baxter continuously does on treatments, colours, and touches of these leathers on the one hand, and our desires to experiment with new forms and different directions on the other hand.”
Paola Navone
Experimentation at Baxter focuses on leather and the talents of tanners, designers and makers. With over 100 collaborators whose skills shape the nuances of each sofa, chair, bed, table and storage unit, members of the extensive Baxter team are described as "a large and not so ordinary family”. That family includes the celebrated designer Paola Navone whose intuitive and unconventional working method is perfectly matched with the Baxter brand.
It is Navone’s ability to open up new paths with leather, to make it come alive, and her design know-how that has shaped their collaboration.
“When I met Baxter many years ago, more than 10 years I think, I didn’t like the items they carried out, but I immediately fell in love with that energy inside the company and reflected in the manufacture of leather. Leather with natural dyes and therefore leather in all its imperfections. It was really an extraordinary savour faire…“, explains the designer who began her career working with Ettorre Sottsass, Andrea Branzi and Alessandro Mendini . Now in her 70s she remains a design industry force. “I definitely think this leather has got an informal and very sensual aspect, being attractive also for all those people who have never loved leather. We can say that the ideas to develop new collections are born from a synthesis between the research that Baxter continuously does on treatments, colours, and touches of these leathers on the one hand, and our desires to experiment with new forms and different directions on the other hand.”
The designers who work with Baxter also include internationally celebrated architect and designer Piero Lissoni, Hagit Pincovici, Federico Peri, Studiopepe, encouraging their unique and diverse skills in the brand's quest to break new ground. One of only a handful of family-run furniture manufacturers remaining in Italy, Baxter is a design company where the chemistry of friendship nurtures that success.
Baxter is available exclusively in South East Asia from Space – Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and Space – Australia.
