Nuoveforme

History of ceramics

Alvino Bagni was born in a district of Lastra a Signa in 1919 and when he was a boy, he began to take an interest in the world of ceramics. Thanks to the teachings of the artist Torello Santini, he began to work

History of ceramics

Alvino Bagni was born in a district of Lastra a Signa in 1919 and when he was a boy, he began to take an interest in the world of ceramics. Thanks to the teachings of the artist Torello Santini, he began to work in the workshop of Arnaldo Pugi's Manifattura ceramica in Ponte a Signa. At the end of the war it was Pugi himself who financed the opening of his first workshop.

The history of Ceramiche Bagni began with 3500 little dishes bearing the inscription "I like Ike", made for the electoral campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who in 1953 would become the 34th president of the United States.

Alvino involved many family members in his business, the first and most important person his wife Gina, who accompanied him throughout his working life.

The 1950s and 1960s were very important years for the Bagni firm, which consolidated its collaboration with some of the most important figures in American design and business, such as Raymor (N.Y.) and Rosenthal, for whom it created extremely modern objects for the time.

With the transfer of the company to a larger and more modern factory, the activity gained new vigour and in 1980 the factory had more than 100 employees and became synonymous with high quality artistic manufacturing, famous for its pieces produced with new and experimental techniques.

With globalisation, unfortunately, came problems and the company, which is still tied to a "handicraft" way of working, cannot cope with excessive cost cutting.

Despite his efforts to save his employees, his factory closed down in 1990.

We had to wait until 1993 to see him back on the track with the Nuove Forme adventure, from which he retired after 8 years for health reasons.

Alvino died in 2009 at the age of 90. His work experience was an extremely interesting journey made up of modesty, technique, passion and creativity.

Nuovef Forme was founded in 1993, taking over the heritage of the ceramic company Alvino Bagni.

Nuove Forme is currently managed by Gianfranco Ghiretti and Alvino Bagni's granddaughter, Maria Chiara Ghiretti, together with some historical collaborators.

The salient features of Nuoveforme's products are the variety and uniqueness which derive from Alvino Bagni's cultural and artistic background and which have been passed on to his granddaughter Maria Chiara Ghiretti and her father Gianfranco.

Nuoveforme's technical qualities in some ways inherit the experience of working with artists such as: Enzo Borgini, Remo Buti and Michele Santonocito who worked with Alvino Bagni.

All this results in the creation of unique pieces that combine a modern and unconventional design with the reinterpretation of historical pieces from the Alvino Bagni archive.

Nuoveforme makes its products in collaboration with local craftsmen who create both models and moulds and semi-finished products on its behalf.

The enamelling, decoration, firing and packaging phases are carried out entirely by Nuoveforme in its own factory.

Over the years Nuoveforme has found its place in the high level global market, targeting a niche clientele looking for unique, hand-made pieces. Nuoveforme also offers the possibility to create bespoke objects and designs, made according to specific customer requirements.

The name of the collection, Prima, refers to heritage and family ties. This is what this collection is intended to represent.

A collection that is a sort of affirmation of Nuoveforme's origins and expresses the DNA of the original Alvino Bagni manufacture.

In this collection we have selected some of the most popular and significant themes of Alvino Bagni ceramics with the aim of narrating its variety and richness of textures and finishes.

Our production process is totally manual, in full respect of the recipes of the origins that we have preserved and conserved in our archives.

With this collection, which sums up Nuoveforme's expressive potential, we have combined tradition and craftsmanship with research and design in terms of decorative techniques and shapes.

It is a way of keeping alive a rich and brilliant history with a new approach that we have decided to apply also to our packaging, made of totally natural and recyclable materials.

Our aim is to show the possibility of doing business with an old-fashioned approach, with a business philosophy that abandons the rules of mass production.