The personal blend

For the presentation at this year's Salone del Mobile, Cleaf's creative team designed a carousel bar that was placed in the centre of the exhibition stand. Along the dynamic centre, visitors were able to experience four different daytime moods using Cleaf's surfaces: Morning, Midday, Evening and Night, with effects in fabric, stone, wood and metal. During the most important international furniture fair, Bestetti Associati thus created a space that was both an event and a showroom and offered the opportunity to experience the surfaces haptically as well as in combination with different materials and shapes.

At the same time, the idea of "Like a bar" was translated into an exhibition in the CCube corporate showroom in Lissone by Audo Architects: it is introduced by an all-white set-up, a white canvas that shows the high degree of customisation that Cleaf offers. In the show itself, the atmospheres of the day have each been translated into unique bars. Two new textures have been added to Cleaf's diverse range: "Traccia" and "Ceppo". While "Traccia" is characterised by a series of positive and negative lines with constant spacing, "Ceppo" features a series of vertical stripes reminiscent of brushed wood, offering a natural pattern.

What was important for you to convey with the installation?

Roberto Caspani: The ability of surfaces to change the mood of an interior or a piece of furniture, without changing its shape. It’s the main feature of covering materials.

In "Like a bar" you linked the product with an experience. How did you ensure that visitors still understood what the product was and were able to find out the background information?

Roberto Caspani: In 2022 we started dividing the collection into 4 material effects – fabric, metal, stone, wood – to highlight the variety of our surfaces, simplifying the choice of products by architects. Combining each effect with an experience and therefore with a different bar was the natural consequence to explain the range of possibilities. The morning bar is made of fabric-effect products to enhance the feeling of well-being. The lunch bar is made of stone effect products that give an urban look. The aperitif bar is made of wood effect products to create a familiar atmosphere. The disco bar is made of metal effect products for a contemporary feel.

What feedback did you get from professionals about your idea, i.e. from other architects, designers and planners?

Roberto Caspani: They appreciated the immediacy of the message and the beauty of our surfaces.

Stand space at a trade fair as important as the Salone del Mobile is clearly limited, how did you manage to realise the versatile installation in this space?

Roberto Caspani: Being able to explain the same concept in different scales is very important and it is a way to evaluate if the idea works. On the stand at the Salone del Mobile we chose to represent the four bars through a circular bar, divided into 4 segments. And we positioned it on a rotating platform, to highlight a different segment every 15 minutes. It was a great idea to show all the four effects and also making things move always captures attention.

Will the installation be on show again?

Roberto Caspani: The "Like a bar" setup will remain in our corporate showroom in Lissone until the end of March when we will dismantle it to develop the new setup on the occasion of Salone del Mobile 2024.