> MASTRO RAPHAEL

The Art of Living










p which would later move on to become a company of international esteem.

appreciated by artists and designers: ?It was a very important moment in my personal evolution? observes Mario Arcangeli, ?I had a truly stimulating dialogue with people like Valentino Garavani, Maurizio Chiari, Toni Facella, Howard Dilday and many others; exchanges that I instilled with my previous experiences in traditional textile manufacture and design?.

Patchwork
The reinterpretation of styles that is still characteristic of today?s models began in the early seventies. Patchwork was one of Mastro Raphaël?s first passions, the object of an ardent study that gave light to harmonious combinations of patterns and lively, original colour. It was 1971 and patchwork was as yet unknown in Europe. The collection was inspired by a catalogue from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris of an exhibition on American Pop Art held that same year.

Interpreting history
1978 is the year of ?1880 Giardino di Campagna?, the first collection of coordinating fabrics and house linens, decorated with bucolic motifs of grapes, pears and strawberries.

It was the first collection of home textiles that proposed house linens, fabrics and other home accessories in a coordinating line.

?Villa Paolina? was another important collection; a study through piqué and embroidered silk inspired by the neo-Classical styles of the Napoleonic period followed by the ?Isfahan? (1979) and the ?Turkoman? (1981) collections: messengers from the Near and Far East.

The passion for history charcaterises new-fashioned collections too, based on the same foundations of quality, beauty and tradition. Like the coordinated collection of fabrics, ?Petit Point?, presented in 1984 at the international exhibition ?Biennale des Editeurs? at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Arcarosa and the Emerald Coast
Bringing the collections to the public with a spirit for change and a fervid initiative: this has always been

the role of the best, specialised stores in Italy and France that first came into contact with Mastro Raphaël through international exhibitions.
Simultaneously to the release of an important collection dedicated to the sea and mosaics, the Arcarosa stores became part of the Mastro Raphaël Group in 1984. The shops were founded on the Emerald Coast by Anita Medioli, originated by her extraordinary passion for Sardinia (as is evident by the name coined by Luigi Vietti: Arca, from the first shop on the Emerald Coast, and Rosa, because it was a woman at its helm).

From the little piazza on the Porto Vecchio in Porto Cervo to via Borgospesso in Milan to Cortina d?Ampezzo, the shops became Mastro Raphaël?s display cases and were added to the network that began with the Spoleto boutique in via dei Duchi and extended to several other points of sale in Salerno (1995), Perugia (1996), Rome (1998), Palau (2000), Santa Teresa di Gallura and Genoa (2003).

Meeting the bees (1995)
Experimenting and know-how, passion and knowledge have outlined new stylistic approaches in continuous regeneration and have brought about encounters with important primary materials, like linen, that Mastro Raphaël selects and interprets with a personal style. Shapes and colours blend perfectly on the surface of this material and interpret its light through colours and embroidery. Like the popular Api collection, a vast line dedicated to bees, a positive symbol of prosperity that has come to identify the company name.

At home around the world
Currently there are over 400 stores that distribute Mastro Raphaël creations in Italy and just as many in the rest of Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Russia and Australia.

In the company?s main export office there are five fulltime multi-lingual operators (English, French, German, Russian) and an equal number that handle the Italian market.

Ready to provide any kind of telephone support for the customer.
In some of the more important European and international locations, such as Munich, Vienna, Madrid, New York, and Moscow, showrooms have been set up dedicated to professionals, such as specialised shops and interior designers.