The Materials of Design with Michele Caniato

Certain success tales have Material ConneXion creating innovative packaging from recycled materials for Aveda’s Uruku^TM line and unique gel seats to improve the comfort and safety of guests at the Second Stage Theater. Another great success involves the team at Material ConneXion working tirelessly with the design firm Pompei A.D. in order to create the perfect showroom for Levi Jean’s Young Men’s Store. Thanks to access to the Material ConneXion library, Pompei A.D. used colored Plexiglas, recycled rubber flooring, parallam, corrugated polypropylene, and honeycomb aluminum in the construction of the new shop. The result is never-before seen applications that helped Levi create a new flagship that allowed the brand to flourish.

In 1998, Material ConneXion hosted an event in honor of one of their clients, design guru Philippe Starck. “Starck was spending a lot of time in New York, and we asked to become his agent and help him develop business in North America. Six months later, we signed the contract and started to collaborate. There was no business plan behind it then, just a great love for design.” Culture & Commerce was then born. The goal of the company is simple: to develop designs into high-performance financial assets.

The first project at Culture & Commerce was developing a relationship between Starck and Target. “Target is a pioneer in the mass market in respect to design, and [the project with Starck] was one of their first true design partnerships. Together, we set out to create truly unique pieces for every day, from baby monitors to accent furniture, at competitive prices that would make those products accessible to more people across the US.” The slam-dunk had Starck creating 52 design-driven products for Target. This started a trend that can still be seen today, as is evident by Target’s new advertising campaign, which shows a plethora of design-orientated household objects.

Today, Culture & Commerce represents some of the world’s most talented and creative people and agencies, including Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders, Dror Benshetrit, Yves Behar, Sammy Hayek, Assouline, COSMIT (the organizer of the Milan Furniture Fair), and more. “Our goal is to remain the top design management firm,” says Caniato. “We are matchmakers, strategists, and facilitators. We understand our client’s needs, and we create the plans to develop successful products and concepts to meet those needs.” Culture & Commerce has many successes, such as hooking Studio Dror up with Rosenthal, Boffi, and more.

As president of Culture & Commerce, Caniato’s role is to look at the market and find the opportunities for the designers. “I love the adrenaline rush that comes with closing a deal,” he says. “I love the challenge of understanding the clients’ needs, and bringing them to a solution; every problem has a solution.”

The two firms consistently share clients, as they have an ideal sibling-like relationship. “We strongly believe that materials are as important as designs. When you create a product, you have the idea, but then you have to find the materials. So Material ConneXion is giving the right answer for materials. Culture & Commerce is the answer for the design point of view; clients approach Material ConneXion for materials, and Culture & Commerce finds the right designer to design a product.” In fact, Microsoft is a client of Culture & Commerce. Caniato then brokered a deal with Philippe Starck to create the Starck Mouse for Microsoft, and in turn, Microsoft became a client of Material ConneXion during the development of the innovative computer piece, which brought contemporary design to the digital world.

For both companies, the sky is the limit. “We are in a growth mode, and love learning along the way.” In the future, look for both companies to grow into household names, as is a goal of Caniato’s business-minded half. “But,” he coyly explains, “design is always of the utmost importance.” And thanks to his efforts, the rest of the world is starting to agree.