L'ARCOBALENO


As the web has flooded itself with flash sales and coupons, one-off deals and questionably low prices, the online market has come to resemble something of a digital Canal Street, where everything is a cheap alternative to its original self. L’ArcoBaleno, which launched earlier this year, is the extreme nonconformist, and refreshingly so—the Biennale des Antiquaires of the Internet, where fine design and rich content formally meet.

The simple criterion, according to Ambra Medda, cofounder and creative director, is that “the pieces should be extraordinary,” and, as a result of the limitlessness of her exploration—and a curatorial team that includes architect David Adjaye, musician Pharrell Williams, and industrial designer Tom Dixon—they are. Classic pieces, like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Peacock Chair, coalesce with more contemporary work, like Poul Kjærholm’s PK 24 Chaise Longue, a Modernist piece that marries natural materials and industrial design.

In this interconnectivity, L’ArcoBaleno stands uniquely as a community all its own, a place where dialogue exists around commerce and vice versa. To this end, Medda and her editorial team complement the sales side with powerful editorial content—designer profiles, fair coverage, and the intricate dissection of series and collections. Just as in the sales, quality is the requirement. “Sometimes we just feel a sense of urgency, like we should publish something that’s in the air,” she says. “It’s stuff I wanted to do forever, and finally I have a place to sell it.”

For more information, please visit LArcoBaleno.com.

Brady Donnelly is the assistant editor of The Last Magazine, as well as the director of product at Casserole Labs.

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