The Italian collection expands the Coalesse live/work cause

SAN FRANCISCO, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Coalesse, the leader in premium live/work furnishings, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Italian indoor/outdoor furniture manufacturer EMU to bring its award-winning "Advanced Collection" to architects, designers and consumers in North America. EMU has become the international symbol for outdoor lifestyles and a unique symbol of modern craft.

"We see our partnership with EMU as a wonderful opportunity to bridge high-design indoor/outdoor furnishings with the new work and living styles emerging in the United States and across the globe," says Frank Merlotti, President of Coalesse. "It's an amazing collection of products that continues our mission of solving the way ideas-people really work -- in comfortable settings that inspire."

"We're excited to work with Coalesse because its brand fits naturally with our high quality of international designs and responsible furnishings," says EMU's CEO, Francesco Guidetti. The EMU Advanced Collection is manufactured with durability in mind; steel and metal pre-treated with a unique EMU-Coat and finished with layers of powder coat paint. With EMU-Coat, items undergo a special and exclusive anti-corrosion treatment to withstand the elements. Each piece is hand crafted at the EMU facility in the hills of Umbria, Italy, as they have done for over 80 years.

Making their debut June 15th at NeoCon 2009, the EMU Advanced Collection product lines were created by world-renowned contemporary designers: Heaven by Jean-Marie Massaud, Re-Trouve by Patricia Urquiola, Ivy by Paola Navone, Cross by Rodolfo Dordoni, and Round by Christophe Pillet.

All of the designers chose metal and EMU's exceptional craft abilities for interpreting creations that go beyond an exclusively outdoor use; the designs are equally well-suited for the home, garden, and a diverse range of corporate and institutional settings. The company gives a new dignity to metal, exploiting its natural properties of flexibility, lightness and strength, enhancing elegance through the exclusive design of its products. Products are created with EMU's unique processes for achieving outdoor durability and are certified for the highest level of quality.

The EMU Heaven collection is an allure of sensual and sophisticated elegance, in which steel is woven like a fabric, softening the volume of furnishings and rendering them almost weightless. Heaven's creator, French designer Jean-Marie Massaud, speaks of his design as "a manifesto of elegance, mid way between glamour and timeless sensuality. The airy silhouettes of the chairs, armchairs, tables and vases stage the privileges of open air life with refinement." It is great charisma and style that makes Heaven a unique product.

EMU Re-Trouve, by Patricia Urquiola, evokes past forms created through the use of superior technology. In the words of Urquiola, "Re-Trouve's inspiration came from the marvelous icon chairs of the '50's, so full of curls and doodles. I wanted to create new models which would bring together a re-interpretation of this old-fashioned design with a more humorous twist, produced with numerical control technology". The geometric design gives three-dimensionality to the pieces.

The EMU Ivy series, by Paola Navone, is inspired by the ancient art of topiary: the ornamental pruning of trees and hedges to create "furniture sculpture" light and minimal, exploiting the ingenuity, creativity and the extreme versatility of metal. Navone's Ivy are objects created to be left outdoors nonchalantly; furniture that will allow itself to be "eaten up" by ivy like statues, and those who sit on it will fully experience the feeling of being immersed in nature.

The EMU Cross Collection, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, is a collection of statuesque and meticulous design, which plays on a refined combination of materials: metal to form the shapes, mesh to give them softness and aluminum to support the structures. "The waviness of the mesh and the softness of the castings build the character of this collection," says Dordoni. The Cross Collection provides plenty of magnificent dining options for both outdoor and indoor settings.

Christophe Pillet's EMU Round series are distinctive and innovative, but never intrusive. According to the designer, "there is something that is often difficult to find in outdoor furniture, and it is precisely those things that I have tried to express in the collection: simplicity, timelessness and a touch of distant elegance."

The elegant outdoor furnishings with be available for order in September 2009 via Coalesse authorized dealers and exclusive retailers. For photos and additional information, please contact Karen Brooking, BDE, at karen@bdeonline.biz or 212-353-1383

About EMU

Founded half a century ago in the heart of Italy, EMU builds upon decades of traditional metalwork and creativity when creating its unique patio furniture. Its state-of-the-art facility is home to dedicated crafters who combine tradition, technology, and contemporary design. EMU's fine casual furniture is ideal for use both indoors and out, and provides comfort and relaxation to home or office settings.

About Coalesse

Coalesse, a division of Steelcase Inc., provides premium furnishings suitable for corporate, hospitality, and residential settings. The brand's top talent joins forces with three renowned companies with rich histories -- Brayton International, Metro Furniture and Vecta. Coalesse's design team seeks to create the next generation of furnishings for the contemporary workspace and home through a brand new category of products designed specifically for live/work lifestyles. With design headquarters based in San Francisco, Coalesse is dedicated to creating furnishings that fit the constantly evolving way in which people work and live.

SOURCE Coalesse