There is so much to discover about this historical brand, and most of all, we have at least five undisputed arguments to love and appreciate LEMA today:
1. The production process is created to ensure large scale customization of their products as standard. Directly from the company’s catalogs, we can choose among a vast selection of sizes, finishing, and modularity, allowing us to customize in smallest details any ambient, without submitting extra-costs on tailored cuts and adjustments. Their modular systems custom-made for the living and night areas are guaranteed by sophisticated technological know-how.
2. Italian excellence is achieved through innovation and technology, based on five fundamental pillars:
o Compositional flexibility, modularity, and personalization
o Raffinate aesthetics offering unedited visual interest
o High quality in terms of materiality and manufacturing
o Unique products with remarkable and unique DNA, anticipating tastes and crating trends with solutions custom-made
o After-sales assistance which guarantees continuity and availability of materials over a long period of time
Today LEMA has organized its production lines into three distinctive divisions, making different categories of products:
1/ Furniture for Home
2/ Contract Division (designated to hotels, restaurants, etc.)
3/ Office furnishings, managed by “IOC Office Projects”, a division born in 1992, operating as a separate structure of the same Lema Group, dedicated exclusively to the world of office projects.
3. To create its products, LEMA is in constant search for excellence, which brought it to collaborate with the best designers and architects in the world:
Piero Lissoni - Art director for Lema since 1994. His design studio opened with Nicoletta Canesi in 1986, Lissoni & Partners, develop projects on an international scale in architecture, interior design, product design, and graphic design. For Lema, he signed several projects as an Art Director and coordinated the creative work of the division Officina Design Lema developing and updating modular systems and collections of home furniture. Some of the most recent works are tables Sesto, Luce and Memo, sittings Hati and Ombra, and the customized walk-in closet Hangar.
Officina Design Lema – is the heart of Lema, a team of creative persons and specialized technicians, which work is to translate customer’s wishes into real products, keeping the core DNA of the brand. Some of the most recent products are the walk-in closets Novenove and Open, a modular day system Selecta, wardrobes Tecna, Prima and Piana, beds Semillon, Picolit and Madama.
Tito Agnoli – for Lema signed in 1978 the system “Scaffale”, which was the first modular system for Living Zone of the brand.
Vittorio Prato – signed for Lema in 1995 the table Sosia.
Ludovica & Roberto Palomba – have collaborated with Lema from 1997 until 2007, designing several products among which are the cylindrical night table Top, the table Dueci, library Koala, mirror Mir, and an upholstered bed Softland.
Roberto Lazzeroni – starts his collaboration with Lema in 2008 for whom will sign several projects; among the most recent we can name the series Lucylle (a lounge chair, a chair, a dining chair, and a bar stool), chair Lucy, lounge chair Werner, coffee tables Mr. Zheng and Flowers, table Jump, cupboard Rainbow, console Victoria and Victor.
Gabriele Rigamonti, Carla Scorda and Vittorio Turla / Studiocharlie – for Lema have signed in 2011 the cupboard Conchiglia.
Flaviano Capriotti – developed for Lema in 2011 the bed Edel.
Francesco Rota – since 2011 will sign for Lema several products, among whom the chaise longue Eydo, the coffee table Court Yard and a cupboard Court Yard, a daybed Yard, and a modular sofa Yard, the library Plain, sofas Warp, Snap, Neil, and Cloud.
David Lòpez / Studio Quincoces-Dragò & partners – start collaborating with Lema in 2011, for whom signed several products like the island chest of drawers Areia, the customized modular day system LT40, wardrobes Warm, Seryasse and Kyn, tables Filo and Alamo, the console Ella, and the armchair Alton.
Toan Nguyen / Toannguyenstudio – in 2012 signed for Lema the table Wow.
Giuseppe Manente and Abramo Mion / Studio Kairos - since 2008 until 2013 have signed several projects, among which are the vertical cases Totò, shelves Minì, the two-in-one side table, and nightstand Silo, bed Theo, a set of coffee table with or without drawers Sign.
Tokujin Yoshioka – signed for Lema in 2013 the mirror Mirage.
Studio Cairoli & Donzelli – developed for Lema the sideboard Picture and wardrobe Naica.
Christophe Pillet – since 2013 signed for Lema several projects, among which are: table Graceland, multifunctional bench Fence, bergère Lady Jane, the modular sofa Brick Lane, coffee tables Mansion and Deck, writing desk Novelist, console Novel, cupboard Steward, and sideboard Long Island.
Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay / Raw Edges Design Studio – in 2013 signed for Lema library Booken.
Alessandro Dubini – signed for Lema the cupboard Nine and mirror Vanity.
Werner Aisslinger – signed for Lema in 2012 the lounge chair Wing.
Dainelli Studio – signed for Lema the bed Maddox and two armchairs, Alma and Maddix.
Ferruccio Laviani – signed for Lema lounge chair Popsi and pouf Tod.
Gordon Guillaumier – in 2012 starts the collaboration with Lema, for whom signed several projects, among which are the sofa and armchair Lennox, upholstered chair Babi, cupboard Faroe, sofas Mustique and Jermyn, a chair and armchair Tabby, armchair Fantino.
Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu/ Neri & Hu Design and Research Office – for Lema signed in 2012 the chair Bai Lu.
Matteo Nunziati – starts to collaborate with Lema in 2013 for whom signed several projects, like the sideboards Marble Arch and Glance, sofa Kaiwa.
Carlo Marelli and Massimo Molteni – designed for Lema the table Thera, cupboards Luna and Ortelia, wardrobe Cea.
Johan Lindstén – signed for Lema in 2015 the pouf Notch.
Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere/ Studio LucidiPevere – designed in 2015 for Lema the coffee table Note.
Daniel Debiasi and Federico Sandri – signed for Lema in 2017 the nightstand cupboards Tip.
Giancarlo Vegni – in 2017 signed for Lema the wardrobe Kiri.
Chiara Andreatti – starts the collaboration with Lema in 2018 developing several objects: the table Bulè, the armchair, and sofa Taiki.
Andrea Mancuso/ ANALOGIA PROJECT – starts collaborating with Lema in 2019 creating the mirror Oculus.
Gabriele and Oscar Buratti/ Buratti Architetti – the collaboration with Lema start in 2020 with a series of products, among which are the bed-sofa Yaki and the modular sofa Venise, coffee table Ortis, pouf Aley, table Gullwing, sideboard Florens.
Federica Biasi – starts the collaboration with Lema in 2020 for whom designed the bench Uma.
4. Lema is a company that pays great respect for Ambiental problems. It complies with normative that privileges the use of technological processes and sustainable materials, favoring water-based paints, and limiting the emissions of toxins into the atmosphere.
- Since 2012 the company is certified according to normative BS OHSAS 18001, which recognizes the commitment towards better working conditions inside its headquarters. Moreover, in 2020 Lema was given the international certification UNI ISO 45001, which attests the company’s responsibility to own values, focusing on people’s health and safety, guaranteeing optimal working conditions, as well as reducing the risk of accidents, injuries, and occupational diseases.
- In 2013 opens the new logistics headquarters at Alzate, a self-sufficient photovoltaic plant.
- Since 2013 Lema has obtained the certification standard ISO 9001, which is the international standard for a quality management system (“QMS”).
- Lema can produce, under request, products that are certified FSC®, meaning it can internationally ensure that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
5. A brave history of the brand:
- In the Thirties (30’) Angelo Meroni opens the first craft shop specialized in furnishings for home
- In the Fifties (50’) open their first mono-brand store in Milano
- In the Seventies (70’) the company switch to industrial production, arriving today to cover over 55.000 sq.m. and managing over 240 workers
1930 – It was the year when Angelo Meroni, the grandfather and namesake of the actual President, starts the family activity by opening the first craft shop in the very center of Arosio, specializing in producing classical style furnishings for the home.
1940 – Ten years later, the Meroni family open their first mono-brand store in Milano. It was here that started the magic. Encountering first architects and designers, and driven by the spirit of the epoque, the brand starts to shift their production toward a more contemporary look and gradually transitioning to industrial production.
1948 – It was the year that signed the transitional moment, from crafting to industrial, giving birth to the brand “La Sorgente del Mobile”. It marked the history of Italian design.
1970 – With the perspective of starting the industrial production, the company entrusted to Angelo Mangiarotti the design of a new headquarters at Alzate Brianza, giving the directive of organizing in the same space the entire production process, starting with the arrival of raw materials until finishing the packaging of the final product. With this huge step, Lema has confirmed the title of the first Italian company to design and produce an integrated furniture system, and organizing the entire production cycle.
1978 – Tito Agnoli, one of the greatest protagonists of Italian design in the late Fifties beginning of Sixties, has designed the new system named “Lo Scaffale” – the first wall system made in Italy with fixed wall units produced at industrial scale and proposed directly in several different finishings.
1981 – Was released the new “Wardrobe to the Centimeter”, a modular system allowing to build a wardrobe to any size and customize with accessories according to the modern requirements.
1983 – Invented by Paolo Minoli, Lema introduces to the public “The Lema Color System” – a unique selection of 37 different colors.
1992 – Opens the new headquarter at Giussano, designed by the architect Angelo Mangiarotti.
The same year was created the new division International Office Concept dedicated to office projects, renamed in 2019 to IOC Project Partners.
1994 – Piero Lissoni is the new Art Director of the brand.
1995 – Lema introduces the new system for the living area “Selecta” with compositional flexibility, the evolution of the old system “Lo Scaffale”.
1998 – Lema presents the first walk-in closet.
1999 – Was released the new modular system TM20, the first system based on boxes signed by the brand.
2004 – Born Lema Contract, the division dedicated to gross projects.
2008 – Lema signs new collaborations with important names from the Italian design world, such as Roberto Lazzeroni, Studio Kairos, Ludovica e Roberto Palomba.
The same year, Lema Contract provides the furnishings to all open stores of Vodafone on the national territory, counting over one thousand stores.
2010 – Lema introduces the new day system T030 designed by Piero Lissoni, the evolution of the old system TM20.
2013 – Lema introduces the first collection of the new soft line, sofas designed by Francesco Rota, Gordon Guillaumier and Christophe Pillet.
The same year, Lema signs new collaborations with designers and architects of international fame, such as Werner Aisslinger, Gordon Guillaumier, Ferruccio Laviani, Luci di Pevere, Nendo, Neri & Hu, Raw Edges, Francesco Rota, Tokujin Yoshioka.
Lema Contract signs the furnishings for the rooms of the prestigious hotel 5* Bulgari Knightsbridge Palace Hotel from London.
2014 – It was the year when Lema celebrates the inauguration of several flagship stores in different big cities around the world: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Pechino, Taiwan, and Melbourne.
2015 – Lema opens in London the first direct flagship store situated at 183 Kings Road in Chelsea, a showroom with over 400 sq.m. containing an exposition of products for Home and Contract.
2016 – Lema celebrates the inauguration of the biggest flagship store ever opened. It is positioned in Shenzhen, a Chinese metropolis, that will count an expo surface for over one thousand sq.m. with Lema products.
2017 – Lema opens the first flagship store in Shanghai, China.
With the introduction of the new Lema Air Cleaning System, a unique and patented device, in world premiere reshapes the concept of a wardrobe, taking over the additional functionality of sanitizing personal objects it contains.
2018 – Lema supplies the customized furnishings for rooms at the iconic hotel 5* Lutetia di Parigi.
2019 – Lema celebrates the opening of the headquarters in the USA – the Building Workshop of Renzo Piano in New York.
The same year signs the supply of furnishings to the hotel 5* Great Scotland Yard of London, the historical headquarters of the municipal police.
Releases the new catalog In Habit, which introduces new applicative ideas inside a rural architectural project. Get inspired!
Best wishes,
Nadiya
MetropolitanMe Blogger