italian artisans hand sculpt tototò coffee table from tuscan terracotta 

tototò embraces the raw tones and textures of clay

Handcrafted by artisans, Tototò is a coffee table that embraces the inherent qualities and beauty of baked clay for furniture brand Miniforms. Designers Paolo Cappello and Simone Sabatti have fused functionality with sculptural forms to compose each of the contemporary furniture objects with two organic masses molded from the same block of clay known as Red Refactory. Packed with substance, the 100% high-temperature terracotta has noble, porous, and malleable qualities that lend Tototò its iconic full yet soft form, as well as its distinctive earthy color. Further, with each piece being baked and sculpted by hand and due to the unique qualities of the clay, no two tables are alike. 

miniforms fuses functionality with sculpture

With Tototò, Italian furniture crafters Miniforms and designers Paolo Cappello and Simone Sabatti celebrate the raw and organic essence of its materiality by allowing the tones and textures of the clay take center stage. With a minimal, contemporary form, the coffee table’s smooth finish, adorned with only subtle natural demarcations of the material, is achieved after baking the clay for 26 hours in the kiln at 1030°. In the hands of the potters, the clay is worked ‘like an accordion’ in one prolonged motion until it attains its ideal shape. The ‘toccio’, or finger-dip, is the only time the potter’s hand leaves the clay to moisten the material with water and retain its ideal consistency. At the same time, a small foot pedal controls how the speed and specific rhythms of the wheel.

project info:

name: Tototò coffee table

designer: Paolo Cappello and Simone Sabatti
client: Miniforms

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