HANDMADE IN ITALY

Story

 

Doriano Mattellone entered a design studio on tiptoe and full of curiosity in 2009, after spending thirty years in the company of wood.
His knowledge of the material led him to search for a different look at “his” material, a look capable of giving life to a finished project.

This is how Matteo Ragni and Doriano Mattellone met. And this is how W-Eye was born, a brand that is extraordinary in many ways.

Extraordinary for the concentration of friendships, relationships, lasting and solid relationships, made of esteem and projects.
Extraordinary because of the professional quality of the people who made W-Eye, including Antonio Stella, an optician from Milan (ASPESI 1910), who explains in a few words what is missing in a pair of glasses to make them really special.

Lastly, it is extraordinary for the upheaval that W-Eye has brought to the production landscape of the north-east, which in just a few years has been populated by alternatives full of life and future, by companies capable of facing the new without fear, questioning themselves, embracing the idea of a revolution in manufacturing that has solid foundations in the knowledge of the material and the experience of working it.

Doriano Mattellone confidently perceives the potential of bonded materials.
New, strong, flexible materials that improve nature and bring out its best.

 

 

 

 

This is what wood and aluminium are for: to create a material that is strong and light. Understanding what to do with it is a further step, which requires the ability to think about form in a freer way. And so Matteo Ragni entered the scene and, finally, in 2010 W-Eye arrived at Mido.

 

In 2011 the W-eye® frame has been nominated for the Silmo d’Or, the world’s most prestigious prize in the eyewear branch.

In 2013 a second nomination follows with the frame King Eider, made of mother of pearl superlativa® and designed by Matteo Ragni.

In the meantime W-eye® receives the National Prize for Innovation from the President of the Italian Republic.

In the same year W-eye® is listed in the ADI Design Index 2011.

In 2012 W-eye® is exhibited at the Triennale Museum of Milan, which collects the best products of Italian design.

In 2013 it is time for the Prize for Innovation of the ADI Design Index.

Awards

2011
Nomination for the 2011 Silmo d’Or : in 2011, at its first official debut at Silmo in Paris, W-Eye ® is nominated in the category “innovative frames and technology” with the model 204, designed by Matteo Ragni and featuring the colorful texture arcobaleno by Alpi®.
  2011
ADI Design Index selection: ADI (Association for Industrial Design), which annually selects the best Italian design, has listed W-Eye® wooden frames designed by Matteo Ragni in its publication of 2011 in the category “design for the person”.
  2012
National Award for Innovation: instituted by the Foundation for Technological Innovation COTEC by permission of the President of the Italian Republic, in 2012 this award is assigned to Matteo Ragni for the W-Eye® project.
  2012
Triennale Design Museum: in 2012 W-Eye® is exhibited in Milan at the Triennale Museum, whose curator is the Italian Institution for architecture, decorative and visual arts, design, fashion and audiovisual production.
  2013
Nomination for the 2013 Silmo d’Or : in 2013 at Silmo in Paris, W-Eye® is nominated in the category “innovative frames and technology” with the model King Eider, designed by Matteo Ragni and made of wood, aluminum and mother of pearl superlativa®.
  2013
ADI Design Index Prize for Innovation: in October 2013, the National Directorate of ADI has assigned the Prize to W-Eye® in recognition of the innovative characteristic of the project.
  2015
Silmo d’Or 2015: In 2015, the Silmo d’Or Award (Sunglasses category) was bestowed in Paris on W-eye for AIFIR, a wood and aluminium model designed by Valentino and Lorenzo Mattellone, featuring particularly sophisticated details.
  2017
German Design Award Special 2017. Special Award 2017 in the category lifestyle with model AIFIR of the BASALT sun collection. The German jury awarded W-eye for the innovative technical application on these stylish glasses.
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