A mysterious, organic shape for a practical object

The “Bulla” bottle opener is designed by Valerio Sommella for Alessi. This project is part of the “Objet Bijoux” collection. “Bulla” is the result of reflection into the adoption of natural shapes that do not immediately reveal their origins but which, even without explicitly announcing it, may have a purpose. Bulla is like a smooth shell, egg-shaped with a long opening: the bottle opener is compact, its smooth polished surface pleasing to the touch. The black leather cord completes the object and allows “Bulla” to be hung up in the kitchen or enables you to take it wherever you go, even on a beach among the shells.

About Alessi

“A true design work must move people, convey emotions, bring back memories, surprise, and go against common thinking.” - Alberto Alessi

Founded in 1921 as a “Workshop for the processing of brass and nickel silver sheet metal, with foundry”, Alessi has always stood out for the high quality of its products. In almost a century of history, the company has gradually evolved to become one of the leading “Factories of Italian design”, capable of applying its expertise and excellence in design management to many different product types. Open to change and international development, Alessi at the same time has a strong bond with the traditions and cultural background of its area and continues to be synonymous with handcrafted objects produced with the help of machines.

Alessi’s mission is now one of translating its quest for the most advanced cultural, aesthetic, design and functional quality into mass production. Designer products are the result of the constant reconciliation of art and industry, of the “Immensity of Creative Potential” and the needs of the market. The company is committed to a design approach in which the most advanced expression of international creativity is always balanced against the desires of the general public. Alessi has been described as a “Dream Factory”, which uses its products to make people’s dreams come true, providing them with the Art and Poetry that they seek.

Alessi: The Design Factory

A journey inside and outside Alessi, to discover a Factory of Italian Design

Alessigraphy: the geography of Alessi production

SINCE THE COMPANY'S foundation in 1921 the majority of Alessi products have been manufactured through the cold working of metals, a tradition that is kept alive today by the skilled workers at the Crusinallo plant in Omegna.

Over time, Alessi also began to work with many other materials, such as porcelain, glass, wood, and plastic... A specific production method was developed for each one. Even when production takes place outside the Crusinallo plant, Alessi’s guidelines guarantee the company’s original production quality standards, continuing to reconcile industrial technological complexity with an artisanal eye for detail.

The objects produced from the different materials are manufactured in various production plants across the world. They remain original Alessi objects in that they are conceived with the same design excellence and produced with the same attention to quality that sets the company’s products apart.

The Designer: Valerio Sommella

Valerio Sommella, born in 1980 and graduated cum laude from the Politecnico of Milan in 2004, began his design career working with Stefano Giovannoni. In 2007 he moved to Amsterdam where he joined Marcel Wanders’ team. Since 2009, when he settled down in Milan and opened his design studio, he designs products in different fields, from furniture to consumer electronic goods and lighting both for Italian and international clients. He alternates this activity teaching at some Italian universities and design schools.