Nuove Forme of Florence on Italian Design

The company Nuove Forme was founded in 1993, taking over the heritage of the family ceramic company. A journey of passion, technique and creativity that began in the first half of the twentieth century with Alvino Bagni.


Born in a hamlet of Lastra a Signa in 1919, Alvino began to take an interest in the world of ceramics as a young boy. Thanks to the teachings of the artist Torello Santini, he began to work in the ceramic workshop of Arnaldo Pugi in Ponte a Signa. At the end of the war, it was Pugi who allowed him to open his first workshop by financing him.

The story

The history of Nuove Forme began with the electoral campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who later became president of the United States, in 1953. For him, the company (which at the time was called the Bagni company) produced 3500 saucers bearing the words "I like Ike". Over the years that followed, what was once a simple workshop became a full-fledged company, where many members of the family worked.


The 1950s and 1960s were the years of affirmation. The Bagni firm consolidated its collaboration with some of the most important names in American design and business, such as Raymor and Rosenthal, creating avant-garde objects for them.


In 1980, the factory had more than 100 employees and became synonymous with high quality artistic manufacturing, famous for its maniacally care for pieces, refined and the result of new and experimental techniques. But, as the years went by, the idea of craftsmanship could no longer keep up and - in 1990 - the Bagni firm closed down for good.


In 1993 Alvino took it over again, creating Nuove Forme. He left the company after eight years for health reasons, leaving the place to Gianfranco Ghiretti and his granddaughter Maria Chiara Ghiretti, together with some historical and important collaborators.

Nuove Forme products

Nuove Forme's products are distinguished by the imprints inherited over the years from the various collaborators: Enzo Borgini, Remo Buti, Michele Santonocito. They are unique pieces that combine unconventional modern design with a reinterpretation of historical pieces from the archive.


They are made in collaboration with local craftsmen who create moulds and models (and the semi-finished product), while the enamelling, decoration, firing and packaging stages are carried out entirely by Nuove Forme in its factory.

The high level is realised with the Prima collection, which tells of the family bond and the DNA of its founder. Four special vases: Riccio vase, vase with engraved bands, vase with Navajo feathers and optical vase. Rough and matt or glossy and smooth enamels decorate some of the products that are the fruit of the company's know-how.


The Plus? The decision was made to use only natural and completely recyclable materials for this collection. Simple crumpled paper has been used to protect the object and a recycled OSB wood box has been used as the box. A choice that we, at Italian Design, fully support!