The industrial suburb of Sassuolo in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, a ten-minute drive from the culinary hub, Modena, is not what comes to mind when you imagine the spoils of Italy. Miles of grey, characterless warehouses line roads heaving with lorries piled high with heavy palettes. Though it may appear unassuming, the region is in fact an important centre in the landscape of Made in Italy design, as one of the county’s leading producers of ceramic tiles. But among the Goliath industries and small-scale producers, Mutina, founded in 1973, has singled itself out as an innovator, turning simple surface coverings into a veritable artform alongside past collaborators like the artist Nathalie du Pasquier and the designer and researcher Hella Jongerius. This fact is only confirmed by its latest collaboration with the lighting designer Michael Anastassiades – on a newly debuted tile made entirely in wood.
