Where the future is born

Every famous Italian has this bed

BEDS from the Italian brand Flou cost in the thousands of euros, and that is no surprise when you find out that at least one model is certified as being a work of art.

Massimiliano Messina, president and owner of Flou and Natevo, both Italian furniture brands, was in the Philippines on Oct. 21 to check out the new space designed for their brands by their Philippine distributor, Abitare Internazionale.

Asked why beds are so important, Mr. Messina deferred to his father’s wisdom. “Saying something better than what my father said is difficult,” he told BusinessWorld,

According to him, his father, Flou founder Rosario Messina, once said, “The bed is a special place where the future is born, where couples connect, where families are created, where people think about their tomorrows.”

“I still think that’s the way a bed has to be,” said the younger Mr. Messina.

FROM DUVETS TO A WORK OF ART
Flou was founded in 1978 and has had a presence in the Philippines since 2003. Meanwhile, Natevo, a brand concentrating on lighting and lighting-integrated furniture, was founded in 2013.

There’s a rather roundabout story as to how the business developed: Mr. Messina said that his father was a sales executive for a company that planned to sell duvets in Italy, then a novelty in the country. “My father realized that he needed furniture to sell the duvets.” So, they started building beds to show off the bedclothes.

From beds, they went on to design the rest of the home, starting with nightstands to match the beds, and going on from there, expanding to the living and dining room: “We were listening to our clients, asking to bring the same idea of comfort to the other places of the home,” he said. “We do produce furniture, but the main thing that we care about is everybody enjoying life.”

The expensive beds (a glance at Italian stores online places them at around €3,000 minimum, the prices do go up) are made with layers of natural materials. Its first product, the Nathalie (with an innovation where the bed can be completely “undressed”) was awarded the Compasso d’Oro and is protected by the European Design Law as a work of art.

Asked about their celebrity clients, he pointed to Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook who bought their beds for his home in Tuscany, but then, “Likely, a lot of our clients are famous,” said Mr. Messina. “More or less, everybody famous in Italy.”

HANDMADE IN ITALY
The beds are completely handmade in Italy: “The only way you can produce that is by hand — there is no machine that can make that technique,” he said. He also talked about the certain advantages that come with bearing the Made in Italy branding: “It is very convenient to be Italian,” he said. “The labor, the people working in our company, they already have the mindset to reach the highest quality.

“You can’t have the best quality if the people handling the product don’t care about that, or don’t know the difference between high and low quality,” he continued. “In Italy, we grow up in an environment that is all about quality.”

It’s this same intangibility in the sense of quality that inspires Mr. Messina and his family (the company is still family-owned and operated to this day). It’s also part of his advantage to be part of a family in the furniture industry, so attuned to the intimacy of the home. “I grew up in this industry,” he said. “A lot of things I know, but I don’t know why.” He patted his gut: “It’s just in your stomach.”

Flou and Natevo are available at Abitare Internazionale, Ground floor, Crown Tower Bldg., 107 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. — Joseph L. Garcia