I love it when we come across some good design in our travels. A store or brand that really has a unique look and also displays it well. The Aqua chain of stores we ran into in Croatia fits my “good design” definition perfectly. Everywhere along the Croatian coast, you find these stores where you can buy everything from pencils to tableware to bath towels with their signature design. I loved it! I add Aqua to my list that includes Pylones and Campo Marzio Design as great, unique design finds here in Europe.
Italian Design
Ooooh, what is this beautifully wrapped box? Dont’t you just love the colors? The idea of “Made in Italy”? Don’t you just want to keep the box all neatly wrapped? I certainly do.
This is a gift from Brandon and Patrick, a bit early for Valentine’s Day. I have found this Italian company, Campo Marzio Design, that creates professional, office-type items – folders, bags, pens in bright colors and fun designs. So much of what is available here is available in the US that it is fun to find a company that is pretty unique and not gigantic and well known yet.
I had wanted to get a pen but didn’t want to spend the money, just told them it was a gift idea for someday. Probably less than two weeks later, they came home with this box. They wanted me to open it right away but I couldn’t. I had to wait and take some pictures first. 🙂 The packaging is so pretty!
The little scroll inside tells about the craftmanship of the pens, refills, etc. It has both Italian and English, the funny part about it is that the English is a very literal translation of the Italian, which of course is quite awkward. I love it.
Patrick and Brandon did a great job of picking out a pen design that I love. Patrick was a bit disappointed that I didn’t want to rip open the packaging and use it right away, but it’s because I needed to savor and enjoy the whole package. It magnified the gift, it’s so pretty! So, to Patrick and Brandon I say:
