Simon Gavina Biography
Dino Gavina (1922 – 2007) was an Italian entrepreneur, designer and publisher. He is one of the most important entrepreneurial figures in the Italian furniture and design sector. He founded the companies Gavina spa, Flos and Simon. An important industrial design award has been dedicated to him - the Dino Gavina Prize - and exhibitions all over the world. He began his professional activity as a stage designer for theaters in the second half of the 1940s; at the "La Soffitta" theater in Bologna he creates objects and scenographic installations. In 1953 he opened a shop where he produced and sold hoods for Jeeps, coverings for railway carriages and even some furnishing accessories. However, he has not forgotten his passion as a fitter, which led him to meet Lucio Fontana, who insisted on taking him to Milan. Precisely in Milan, in 1953 while he was setting up the A few years later he met Kazuhide Takahama with whom he formed a great friendship. With Fontana, Dino begins a lively collaboration. In 1960, Dino Gavina founded Gavina SpA, in which he held the role of CEO and whose president was Carlo Scarpa. The company debuted on the market with the Sanluca armchair, the first fruit of a great friendship with Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Gavina SpA has been a point of reference and inspiration for many other Italian and international companies in the sector. In 1962, together with Cesare Cassina, he founded Flos, still one of the most important lighting companies in the world. In 1968, he founded Studio Simon together with Maria Simoncini. Beyond his entrepreneurial skills, Dino Gavina was one of the most influential figures in the world of industrial design and he is recognized as the father of design as we understand it today, not only for having founded three of the most important companies in the sector, but above all for the strong innovations and influences brought to the field.
