The makers at Cavallini & Co. are continually inspired by the iconic prints and paper ephemera of the Cavallini Archives. They offer a range of gift items and calendar products featuring vintage maps, celestial charts, botanical prints, and more that will give your home or desk a certain je ne sais quoi. Founder Brad Parberry tells us about how his team curates their classic collection of prints and products. Our interview with him is below!
How did Cavallini get started? What are the Cavallini Archives?
Cavallini started in 1989 with an idea to simply import Italian art calendars. I felt they were both unique and beautiful. After 6 months I soon realized that Cavallini could not be an importer of other manufacturers’ products. So I deferred to something I knew and believed in, which was imagery from the 18th and 19th centuries suc h as hand colored prints of botanical and architectural drawings. The Cavallini Archives is similar to a library and museum. Our archive has imagery dating back to the 16th century which are in the form of books and loose book plates. New items are added daily to the archive.
How does Cavallini celebrate history with its products?
By utilizing beautiful imagery from our archives and giving the images new life. This allows others to appreciate these works and allows one to relive the works from centuries past.
How does your brand curate its collection of prints?
The best way I can answer this is we acquire imagery that we like. We drive this process by what we like and hopefully our customers will follow. Typically, it is not driven by what the market is dictating.
What draws people to Cavallini products?
I would say familiarity and nostalgia. We work hard to make a statement from each product we produce so that it is both easily and quickly understood by the market. With this in mind, we produce items that are the highest quality. That comes first in the process of creating a new product. Then it has to be fairly priced. This is key to our process.
How do you innovate and follow trends while staying true to your vintage style?
We tend not to follow trends. We find inspiration within our archives and produce products that we feel that our customers will accept. This means that we produce items with designs that we like and would buy.
Are there any new products or designs coming out?
We are working on puzzles.
Could you line a dresser with this fine paper? Is it strong enough? Thanks
Yes! Our fine paper will hold up once sealed when used for covering furniture.
Cavallini papers are a gift to the world. I fell for them, and fell hard, at Christmas 2015, and showered family and friends with fifteen of them; time for another order, I’d say. May they be available for as long as beauty of any kind exists in the world.