The “normalcy” of these household objects has always struck me. They weren’t just “normal” in the sense that they were used everyday at home. They were examples of an era of the consumer society which was destined to disappear quickly: a time I’d call pre-design, prior to the phenomenon of Designer goods in all of our homes. Of course, in a way, they were designed too. That is to say, they were designed by: my dad (Carlo Alessi) or still earlier, by the technicians of the product development office (a.k.a “U.T.A.”, “Ufficio Tecnico Alessi”), perhaps with the help of a particularly authoritative salesman. But they had two features that distinguish them from contemporary design projects: they weren’t part of a culture of glossy, designer products; and they were heavily influenced by almost obsessive attention to function, proper manufacturing methods and production costs. Alberto Alessi