Giordano Viganò

Cabinetmaker

From carpenter to furniture designer

Giordano grew up watching his father sketching furniture
The turning point in his career was meeting architects
He loves wood deeply

When he opened his own workshop in 1959, Giordano Viganò would never have guessed that this path in life would later lead him to work with some of architecture's biggest names and become a furniture designer as well as a furniture-specialised carpenter. From the mid 1970s, after having met architect Luigi Massoni, Giordano began making furniture with a modern touch. Society was changing and so were people’s tastes. A new season was ahead and it was to be full of decisive encounters for Giordano. The result of all this is a man who shapes the right wood for the object requested; a man who also says no if necessary.

Interview

©Laila Pozzo

What types of wood do you like best?: Ebony and palm wood. Palm wood is made of longitudinal fibres and it splinters easily; it is hard to work. If cut vertically, you will obtain vertical streaks with a dense grain; by cutting it horizontally you will see many dots, whose size changes according to the angle of the blade. It's like a mosaic.
Have you ever said no to a customer?: Once a customer came and asked me to reproduce a valet clothes stand that he'd seen. Instead of making this copy, I suggested I design a valet just for him. It was a totally different one, very modern. He loved it. And the intellectual property of the product is mine.
Do you think your craft is in danger?: On one side, I see an unwillingness from people to commit to something. On the other side, it’s very hard to be noticed. It's a matter of visibility and culture. Educating people about quality and attention to detail takes time.
Is there anything you are particularly proud of?: In 1986 I made a design collection for Giulio Cappellini signed by Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata. That was when I made the 'side one drawers', a design icon. Prototypes are unique pieces because I make them in ash wood, but Kuramata wanted it lacquered in black and white.

Giordano Viganò is a master artisan: he began his career in 1960