Magis with its showroom at 77 Corso Garibaldi, in the heart of Brera, has been a synergic place where charm, art and design coexist for over 10 years. From a project by Elisa and Stefano Giovannoni comes 260 square metres of showroom where the brand showcases its new collections but also its best sellers. A real street theatre backdrop where design sets are cyclically designed. We spoke with Barbara Minetto, General Manager Magis, about new collections, projects and updates of historical pieces.
The design world is increasingly open to what digital commerce can offer. Magis is sold through several online specialty stores, such as Made In Design. Have you considered the option of activating one?
It’s true, a lot of our products are well suited to reaching consumers through online platforms. We’ve been doing this for a long time. At the moment we don’t have an online store of our own, as we’d rather have our dealers handle it. But it’s a possibility for the medium term; we need to think about it carefully as we’d like to offer something extra in terms of the customer experience.
On the retail front, how important is it for you to have a physical store in the heart of Brera, where people can see your products up close?
We’ve been in Brera for about 10 years, since we opened our showroom in Milan. In our opinion the district remains one of the most interesting parts of the Milan design scene. Brera is still the real Milan. And it’s livelier than ever, with more and more fashion and design brands moving in. We think Brera is where it’s happening.
This year, 2022, marks an important milestone for the Mariolina chair designed by Enzo Mari. How have you celebrated this icon of design?
Mariolina is a timeless object. We think it’s one of the finest creations from Enzo Mari’s long career and we’re very proud that it’s part of the Magis collection. New colours and frame finishes are breathing fresh life into Mariolina and making the chair more versatile than ever, while staying true to the initial design concept.
For the 2023 edition, the theme of Brera Design Week will be about how we envision our future, about human cohesiveness in relation to the uniqueness of the times we live in. What will you be presenting?
We have several projects in the works for the next Design Week. We’re working on different kinds of products that we think mesh perfectly with the themes Brera Design Week wants to address. We’ll have storage pieces, outdoor chairs, sofas for indoors and out. These are collections that encourage spending time together, which is something we need. Sustainability, of course, is always top of mind.
Barbara Minetto was born in San Donà di Piave in 1970.
In 1995, after graduating in Economics at Cà Foscari (Venice), she joined Magis, a company founded in 1976 by her father-in-law Eugenio Perazza.
From the beginning, he has been in charge of communication and marketing as well as the general management of the company together with his family.
Barbara Minetto has been a member of the Board of Directors of Unindustria Treviso (now Assindustria VenetoCentro) since 2014 and President of the Wood-Furniture Group of Assindustria VenetoCentro since 2019.
Since 2017 he has been a Member of the Assarredo Board of Directors and is the Representative appointed by the Assarredo Board of Directors in Fondazione ADI, holding the position of Vice President of the Board of Directors.
Since 2020 he has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Federlegno Arredo and Vice President of Assarredo.
