Continuing the Chiavari chair tradition
- Paolo and Gabriele’s chairs are handmade from local wood
- The Chiavari chair was first made in 1807
- They shape and interpret every single component
Brothers Paolo and Gabriele Levaggi continue a family tradition that started in 1963. They are dedicated to the entirely artisanal production of the renowned Chiavari chair, or Chiavarina: a lightweight, robust and elegant chair invented in 1807 by cabinetmaker Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi from Chiavari, on the Ligurian coast of Italy. In the 19th century this chair was enormously successful, and its revival was brought about in the following century thanks to the Superleggera chair designed by Gio Ponti in 1955. “We chose to embrace this craft,” say Paolo and Gabriele, “because we are passionate about the processing of the raw material, for the creative aspect of the craft and above all for the awareness that our work represents a national cultural heritage.”
INTERVIEW
The chairs we make bear the name of our town, which makes them inextricably linked to our local region. The Chamber of Commerce of Genoa created the brand “Ligurian artisan craftsman excellence”, which is granted only to authentic and excellent handcrafted productions such as ours.
I am mostly dedicated to polishing, which represents the last stage of the manufacturing process before the chairs are assembled. Polishing exalts the details of the wood and makes them anti-ageing and water resistant, giving each chair their smooth and velvety appearance.
I work on the machinery starting from the raw form to get to the finished piece. Some of the components are turned manually, with a finish that is not achievable with any industrial machine: a process that also requires great mastery in the use of hand tools.
Many think that we use light woods to build such light chairs. In fact, the exact opposite is true: we use hard and heavy woods. What gives lightness is the processing of the individual components, which makes them lightweight but at the same time extremely resistant.
