Small Tramonto Candle holder by Cristina Celestino for Paola C.

Italian designer Cristina Celestino was born in Pordenone in 1980. She studied architecture at the University of Venice (IUAV), ultimately earning a Master’s degree with highest honors in 2005. Upon graduating, she worked with a number of architecture firms in Rome, Florence, and Milan before shifting her focus to interior architecture and design.

In 2009, Celestino moved to Milan. In 2010, she launched Attico, a design brand dedicated to small series production of lamps and furnishings. All Attico pieces are made in collaboration with expert Italian craftsmen. They are characterized by a deep research in shapes and materials as well as a subtle play on traditional forms. Celestino is a collector of Italian design masterpieces, and she is inspired by both the old and the new, the traditional and the contemporary, and a protean approach that spans fashion, art, and design. Her work ranges from limited edition projects for galleries and museums to special commissions for brands like Atipico, Botteganove, Durame, Flexform, Mogg, Seletti, and Tonelli Design e Torremato. In addition to her designs for Attico, Celestino also works as creative director for other brands and engages in interior and exhibition projects.

In 2012, Attico pieces—including a series of table perfumers called Atomizers— were included in Salone Satellite in Milan; this experience helped introduce Celestino’s and Attico’s work to a global audience. Attico designs have since been included in a number of exhibitions around the world, including, but not limited to: A Spatial Surprise at Mint Gallery (London, 2012); PAST/FUTURE: Enzo Mari and Contemporary Italian Design at Carlton Hotel Baglioni (Milan, 2013); Wabi Sabi: Italian Slow Design at Galleria Colombari (Milan, 2013); We Print, an exhibition organized by Fujifilm at Fondazione Catella (Milan, 2015), Effetto Serra for Milan Design Week at Martina Gamboni (Milan, 2016); and W. Woman in Italian Design at the Triennale Design Museum (Milan, 2016).

Celestino has been honored with multiple awards, including the Special Jury Prize at Salone del Mobile Milano (2016) and two Young & Design Awards during Milan Design Week 2015—one for her Obei Obei mirror for Atipico and the other for the BON TON lamp for Torremato. Additionally, Celestino’s Atomizers design (produced by Seletti) is included in the permanent collection of the Triennale Museum of Milan.

Paola C. was established in 2000 in Milan by curator Paola Coin. The gallery and showroom commissions and presents contemporary tableware collections in varied materials by an international roster of designers, including Jaime Hayon, Bijoy Jain, Meriç Kara, and Matteo Cibic. In 2000, Paola C. began an ongoing collaboration with Milan-based designer Aldo Cibic, who continues to act as the art director of Paola C.’s in-house collections. These consist of cooperative projects and exhibitions with design schools around the world, including the Royal College of Art, London; Fabrica, Treviso, Italy; Tonji University of Shanghai; and Atelier Prey, Design and Art Faculty, Free University of Bozen, Italy.