Designer Elisa Cavani has succeeded in capturing the art of upcycling in her Manoteca collection. However, it begins with  the honor and respect she possess  for these bespoke pieces she finds and reinvents in  a small house in a park in Bologna, Italy  that motivates her to turn them into striking and functional one-offs for today’s interiors.  She takes  pride in renewing and  restoring old and abandoned objects mostly with reclaimed and recycled materials. She believes each object holds the story of someone’s life.  Her hope is to bring new life to these objects in hopes that the future owner will think about the  stories and memories linked with the object and treasures it.

Indoor Door Table. Industrial and upcycling at it’s best. Formerly, an exterior door used for an entrance. Closed, it will seat up to 8 people for dining. Prop the lift door and it multitasks as a one person studio. The leather pocket holders donated by an old sofa are perfect for office supplies, and writing tools.

 

La Nuit de Noel: Dancing Tree. A tilted trunk patiently rusted by water and salt acts as a basin for the water that continuously feeds the Olive tree. A tear drop of light powered by  a wire wrapped delicately through and around a branch reflects off of the water source in the trunk.

 

Olmo: Kitchen Table.  A transformed rugged carpenter bench is now a thing of beauty. A vivid white porcelain sink sits amiably in the aged weathered wood.

Convivio ( Ch’i”ola): Kitchen Island.  Features a clamp and a light. While somebody’s cooking, somebody’s eating.

 

Il Fausto: Tricycle Light. The steel tricycle purchased at a  flea market is now a book rack and rolling light in one. With a long wire, it can park anywhere.

 

L’ego:  Mirror on a easel. Perfect name for this versatile mirror that travels and adjusts with ease.

 

Above Photos via MANOTECA