During this week’s visits, we got a chance to visit Kartell museum. When first entering the museum, I remember seeing a model of a small car that looked like just a real car except painted. When the tour began, we were told that Kartell has produced more than 8000 items since 1949. The company was created to make everyday items using plastics. People began to get rid of traditional items created using metal or wood and started using plastics, as it was long lasting, easy to clean, light and sturdy. Starting off our tour, we were first shown plastic buckets that women used to wash kitchen utensils, first plastic lamp that was created in 1958, plastic lab equipment that was also produced in 1958, the very first plastic chair in the world that was really important for the company. The first plastic chair was made for children in 1964 and then for adults, plastic chairs came in 1967. This first chair to be made entirely out of plastic marked Kartell’s furniture manufacturing. Furthermore, in 1967 Anna Castelli designed modular furniture that was very important for history of plastic due to its mechanical characteristics. Kartell began to produce everyday items that met home and personal needs. Modular trolleys, drawers, vases, ashtray, table lamps marked a historic time when plastic became the material of future. One of the modular items that I greatly admired was a bookshelf made without any screws in the 1970s. Kartell also produces a bookshelf that is not square or rectangle shaped, rather in circular shape during the 1990s. Additionally, along with producing furniture, Kartell takes a big step in making plastic fashion objects. Items such as plastic shoes and purses mark a big step for Kartell to enter the fashion industry. It is hard to indulge a fact that one company can produce this many items in plastic. What started as a single dream for Kartell turned into easy accessible everyday item for consumers to utilize. A company that started more than 60 years ago still continues to beautify objects using a material that was not imaginable to be utilized in so many ways. Kartell continues to experiment with expansion in technology and it is hard to imagine what this company will continue to do in the next 60 years. Seeing so many objects made out of plastic in one building made me realize the importance a single material can have in the industrial society and in consumer goods.
