Generation game: How Promemoria are future-proofing the firm

Promemoria is a fourth-generation Italian family firm. My grandparents restored and repaired carriages for the local nobility and my father had a carpentry workshop. It was there that I took my first steps into the family business and learnt about working with wood.

I started my own company, Promemoria, in 1988, when I realised I wanted to create pieces that were not otherwise easily found. My family has always been passionate about wood – surely one of the noblest of materials. For us it is alive and symbolises the past, present and future of the family. I have now involved my three sons in the company – they are the fourth generation.

The symbol of Promemoria is a frog. I chose this little animal as the emblem of the company as it’s a good luck symbol in Asian culture. It has two meanings for me that help explain my philosophy. Firstly, frogs live in three environments: water, ground and air. They can adapt themselves to these elements, just like as a business we must adapt to a changing environment. Secondly, frogs always jump forwards and never backwards; that is important. Now I have my sons working with me, I can imagine the future for Promemoria: we will always improve through technological research, but we will also continually keep in mind our philosophy, which is based on attention to detail and extremely high levels of quality.

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The truth is Promemoria will never change its style, which is unique and timeless: our furniture has an eternal quality. Of course, it is important to grow through investing in technology, but we will always bear in mind our origins as carpenters. This year, for example, during the Salone del Mobile design week in Milan, we will present new lighting technology that will replace traditional halogen bulbs and will be sold with all our lamps in the future. It is a project that has involved one of my sons, Paolo, who is very interested in technology.

My son Stefano is responsible for the carpentry workshop; he takes care of the choice of woods and the production. Davide is head of the design department, oversees the English market and in the past few years has worked with me closely on new collections. Paolo runs the management of the firm and is also responsible for the lighting research department. They all have an important role in the company and I am very proud to have them in the family business. We work together every day and, to be honest, it’s not always easy. This probably has something to do with the fact that I’m their father and I always push them to do their best.

Promemoria prides itself on staying relevant in terms of design and I do not think there is a single solution to doing this. One significant way of remaining in touch is to recognise the importance of what your clients want. Ours are very demanding; they want great quality products made from the best materials and often made specifically for them. Our customers look for the unique and for pieces that you cannot find easily. However difficult their demands, we challenge ourselves to fulfil their wishes.

To achieve this, we consistently combine our craftsmanship with modern technology. At Milan design week, you will see our new collection – Amaranthine Tales. Key pieces include the new lamps, Higgs, designed by Piero Castiglioni, and Icosaedro, a new lighting system that can be applied to our products. For Promemoria, light is not simply synonymous with beauty, serenity, equilibrium and happiness, but it is also a source of continuous technological innovation. Thus, Icosaedro was born.

ROMEO SOZZI is a designer and cabinet-maker who, since 1988, has managed Italian interior design company Promemoria with his three sons; promemoria.com