Introduction
Circa 1930s.
Since 1720, northern Italy beheld generations of inspiration for G. Bonomi & Figli and it is an appropriate crucible for a renaissance of modern design in architectural hardware.
Our foundry and workshop in Tione di Trento, cradled by the Italian Alps and sustained in lush valleys coursing with streams and rivers, has taken a quietly visionary stance upon its establishment near the turn of the twentieth century by Giuseppe Bonomi. Centuries of mastering brass led this family-owned enterprise to embrace a thoughtful new engagement with nature that would blend the rigor of craftsmanship with the romance of artistry to re-imagine our connection to our environment – in our homes and in the world beyond. The waters that nourished this verdant township would shape their destinies; the Bonomi family powered their operations with hydroelectricity, recycling their wastewater and excess materials to bring energy to the region and create a sustainable model to ensure its pristine presence for years to come.
This rapture with the natural surroundings would be balanced by a definitive industriousness and a breathtaking sense of the essence of modernity. With an emphasis on precise production and an elegant distillation of forms, the work of G. Bonomi & Figli ushered in a Modernist mood that heralded the influential design philosophy of the International Style, from architettura funzionale in Italy to the global movement of Bauhaus. Our signature collections embody the transcendent allure of these timeless styles. Maintaining our bold yet considered approach, we realize each of these pieces with a blend of traditional techniques and the latest technologies. Lifetimes of experience allow us to custom craft our collection to the specifications of our clientele while ensuring consistency and compliance for every use. Our entire family and each member of our workshop has a passion for quality and an eye for detail throughout the production process to create extraordinary results that resonate with a sophisticated sensibility.
Our History
Circa 1930s.
The story of G. Bonomi & Figli is also the history of a spectacular yet humble region of northern Italy and a family that spans five generations of art and craft.
From the town of Lumezzane in Lombardy, a region renowned for its industry, the Bonomi forefathers established a tradition of brass work and manufacturing that has been passionately pursued since 1720. Nearly two centuries later, Giuseppe Bonomi was the first to realize their distinctive approach with the establishment of the first Bonomi foundry, or fusina, in Tione di Trento. The fusina linked together not only generations of the Bonomi family but also the entire production process with the sustenance of this bucolic township at the foot of the Alps. This integral connection with the environment began with the naming of the workshop, GBT, linking the founder’s initials with those of the province; it found its ultimate realization in the harnessing of hydroelectric energy to power its operations and Tione di Trento itself.
With the responsible engagement of natural resources, GBT supported the growth of this idyllic valley as it quietly mastered the most important movements in design history. The subtle synthesis of efficiency and expressiveness embodied in Modernism represented the richest effulgence of the Bonomi family approach. Hallmarks of the International Style that defined the early twentieth century were evinced in generations of sensitivity to elemental abundance honed by a straightforward approach to summoning the soul of their materials for functional use. This honesty in materials and respect for fabrication, ensuring the dignity of each step of the process for all concerned, speaks to the primordial and profound beauty at the core of Modernist philosophy. G. Bonomi & Figli is pleased to introduce a renaissance of an important era of design and family history with complete hardware collections for elegant environments, produced in the same factory using original designs from our archives crafted to fit the needs of today.
Our Environment
Circa 1930s.
An intimate connection with our environment defines the work of G. Bonomi & Figli. This relationship begins and ends where the Chiese, Rendena and Giudicarie Valleys meet in the province of Trento in northern Italy.
Here, on the site of ancient Gaul and Roman settlements between the Arnó and Sarca rivers, the inhabitants found their riches in their surroundings, inspiring regional creations renowned for their sensual simplicity such as polenta and grappa. The purity of this area resonated with the vision of Giuseppe Bonomi, who based the first family foundry in the shadow of the Brenta Dolomites amid the far western reaches of the Alps in the early eighteenth century. This snowy zenith frames the GBT workshop to this day, yet it was more earthly sources that inspired the Bonomi family to their most prescient engagement with nature.
Tione di Trento’s most valuable natural resources were the resilience of its people and the water that ran through their land. Combining independence and ingenuity, the Bonomi family workshop harnessed the power of Alpine waters to run on hydroelectric energy. This resourcefulness set their factory apart as the first to both utilize and provide electricity in the region. Not only is fresh water taken to power its production process, but also the resulting wastewater is filtrated to ensure that their sources – the surrounding streams, rivers and lakes, including the largest lake in Italy – remain as clean for the region as when the company was first established centuries ago. A culmination of a progressive perspective on the stewardship of the environment that its people prize above all, the workshop continues to respect a pact to balance the use of the land with the protection of its treasures. This thinking extends to their materials, as well; the foundry uses every opportunity to recycle its brass following the fabrication of their designs. By embracing the utility of the past to provide for their future in a diversity of senses, G. Bonomi & Figli has quietly maintained the spirit of sustainability through the present day.
Our Production
Circa 1930s.
A personal commitment to artistry, craftsmanship and industry vivifies centuries of family tradition as well as the tenets of modern design.
Our collections illustrate our belief that the integrity of the production process is as much a reflection of beauty as its final form. Resolved to conserve our resources and inspired by the ingenuity of our leanest times, we have held fast to this balanced ethos since our inception. We have continually evaluated our organizational processes and evolved our technology with the times to ensure our clientele receives the benefits of our attention in cost as well as quality. G. Bonomi & Figli imbues each step of execution with this understanding and in turn every employee, many of whom are with us for a lifetime, brings this into the work they do to create each piece.
Our embrace of past and present extends to the myriad techniques both historical and new employed to fashion our collections. From sand casting to lost wax, heat molding to CNC technology, every technique is pursued with the utmost efficiency and expressiveness to realize the breadth and depth of our archives and inspire future designs. Our clientele may choose to explore from our moulds and catalogs to revive an architectural era through the finest technical and artistic techniques and we proudly produce our signature collection to specifications. Housing every facet of production under the aegis of our workshop continues to inspire our intimate awareness of the process and encourages us to refine our approach with the latest technologies to enhance historical knowledge. Our accommodating stock setup is specifically programmed to deliver each order with speed and safety while minimizing waste and delay. The value of our holistic perspective and sense of fairness is clear in the ultimate product from our workshop: the satisfaction of our clients.
Our Technology
Circa 1930s.
The ability to think ahead while respecting our traditions and resources has defined our distinct presence in the realm of architectural hardware from our inception.
Blending a simple philosophy and thoughtful innovation, the pastoral setting of our workshop in northern Italy presaged the most influential modern design movements of the early twentieth century. Technological advances in every step of the production process have allowed us to achieve the maximum effect from our materials with minimum impact to the environment. This exquisite unity of aestheticism and efficiency is not only at the root of Modernism but also our family history.
G. Bonomi & Figli brings this historic perspective to the current global marketplace with a bold embrace of visionary processes that ensure the consistency and quality of our collections. We start with processes that yield the strongest results, including hot and cold forging, with a focus on near net shaping to minimize cost and waste from our initial engagement with the material. This precision is maintained through the most up-to-date computer machining to realize and replicate stunning finished results. From custom specifications to standard orders, each piece incorporates the most vital technologies, including CNC lathes, earth and shell casting, die casting and hot pressing and stamping. We also use computer programming to design as well as manufacture our molds based upon three-dimensional modeling. Through the entirety of our secondary operations, up to and including finishing, we take advantage of technological progress in the field to provide workmanship recalling handcrafted techniques with a consistency, from piece to piece and across our collections, that is only possible with modern machines and robotic tools. With this priority, we continue to dedicate ourselves to exploring technology and refining our processes with every piece we make.
Our Finishing
Circa 1930s.
An intimate connection with our environment defines the work of G. Bonomi & Figli. This relationship begins and ends where the Chiese, Rendena and Giudicarie Valleys meet in the province of Trento in northern Italy.
Through prehistory and ancient civilizations to the modern era, the utility, strength and longevity of brass has assured its place in every environment from the largest institutions to private homes. G. Bonomi & Figli ensures that each member of our workshop understands the ultimate vision for the product, nurturing a solid respect for its natural origins that contributes to the integrity and beauty of its ultimate form. Our stunning finishes are the final step of the creative process yet they vividly illustrate the concern that we have shown throughout for offering conscious and consistent investment pieces from our company.
Finishes have gone in and out of vogue, but we have always kept our focus upon creating long-lasting collections with the best technology available. We have made significant investments in robotic technologies that enhance the process and presence of our rich finishes, however, we only use these if it makes sense for the final product. By hand or by machine, we are unmatched in the flawless execution of grinding, sanding, polishing, plating, highlighting and patination – all done in-house in the forward-thinking spirit of our forefathers. Indeed, the future of our work is the ultimate marker of success for our finishings. Finishing only enhances, never overwhelms, the detail in our collections, speaking to the essence of their being and their potential in your hands. The value of this approach may not be immediately apparent; only through sustaining a personal engagement with our pieces over many years and uses does this investment in endurance and elegance truly reveal itself. As we provide for generations of personal use in a home environment, we also see to the persistence of inspiration from our natural surroundings by controlling excess and recycling wastewater resulting from our finishing process.
Our Stock
Circa 1930s.
The attention that we invest in the creation and production of our collections also extends to our stocking and shipping system.
Overseeing our stock of raw materials is the primary step to establishing our efficiency and effectiveness. Thinking ahead with multiple levels of inventory and anticipation of annual material consumption translates to the stability of the present. With a healthy stock for production, this resource capitalization is an investment in consistent costs and client security. G. Bonomi & Figli takes advantage of this positioning to maintain a semi-raw stock in addition to a full assortment of finished pieces on hand. The final steps of finishing and mounting are executed to specification when an order is placed. This made-to-order approach minimizes production time and enhances our adaptability to a range of requests.
As a brand with a global outlook, we plan for the presence of our collections in myriad environments. Our stock includes the mechanical parts and devices as well as systems for assembly and maintenance to craft the perfect fit for special requests and standards worldwide. We not only satisfy requirements within the E.U. and across the U.S. but also work to ensure that each piece is well made for a variety of intended usages. For residential or commercial use, cycle testing is gauged to the spaces that incorporate our hardware. These steps grant our clients the security of knowing that the results of our shared vision will be enjoyed no matter where they are.
The consistency and quality of our initial organization extends to the final phase of packaging and shipping. Finished goods from our signature collections are pre-packaged in anticipation of cyclical sales requests. Allowing for immediate shipment, we are pleased to minimize delays so that our clients may enjoy their pieces as soon as possible. By planning for the future satisfaction of our clientele, we make sure that nothing gets in the way of appreciating the work we have done for generations.