He built parts for Knoll before building a name: Giovanni Baccolini

For twenty years, furniture by Knoll International, Poltrona Frau and Olivetti Synthesis carried components he made: Giovanni Baccolini supplied polyurethane parts through Ilpo's Integrali division before anyone knew his name. Born in Bologna in 1956 and trained as an industrial technician, he started out drawing bicycles and motorcycles — then, in 1992, bet on himself and opened Studio Omega, the practice he still runs today. He learned seating from inside the shell before he ever signed one.

American juries noticed: in 2013 his Zero9 for Ares Line took a NeoCon Silver Award. Today he designs and engineers for Ares Line and Arper, names La Mercanti ships and installs across the United States. A Baccolini chair is what happens when the parts guy finally gets to draw the whole thing.