Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the premier specialty retailer of home furnishings and gourmet cookware in the United States. Our brands are among the best known and most-respected in the industry. We offer high-quality, stylish products for every room in the house: from the kitchen to the living room, bedroom, home office and even the hall closet. The first Williams-Sonoma store opened in 1956, selling a small array of cookware imported from France. Since then, the brand has expanded to hundreds of products from around the world, more than 250 stores nationwide, a direct-mail business that distributes millions of catalogs a year, and a highly successful e-commerce site. What has never changed is Williams-Sonoma's dedication to customer service and strong commitment to quality.

Barbara Hill, who was born in Beaumont and crowned Miss Texas in 1956, is an expert in both conventional and unconventional beauty. She has lived “with every style you can think of,” but some of her fondest memories are of the 1970s, when she turned her Houston house into a gallery, representing artists such as Daniel Buren and Sol LeWitt early in their careers. “Minimalism is where my heart is,” she says.

Enzo Mari was born in Novara, Italy where he studied classics and literature at the Academia di Brera in Milan from 1952 to 1956. As a student, Mari supported himself by working as a visual artist and freelance researcher. In a period when Italian design was flourishing as enlightened industrialists collaborated closely with designers to rebuild their businesses, he also became interested in design and painstakingly taught himself about it. His first project for Danese was 16 Animali, or 16 Animals, launched in 1957.

Ettore Sottsass was born in Austria in 1917, though in the late 1920s he moved to Italy with his family (his father was the prominent Italian architect Ettore Sottsass, Sr). He set up his first studio in Milan before traveling to New York in the 1950s, where he worked in the office of from 1956 to 1957. A future-minded designer, Sottsass worked closely with Olivetti designing the Elea 9003 (the first Italian calculator) in 1959 and the company's first electronic typewriter, the Tekne, a few years later. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 90, after resurged interest in his work led to exhibitions at the and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Owner at Hot Rod Chassis & Cycle, Engineer and Fabricator at Skunkworks Racing Division. We live in a 1956 Ranch, complete with oval inground pool and [surprisingly] surviving MCM landscaping. Our friends call our house the "museum house," as 90% of the furniture is MCM, including in the kitchen.

Not to be confused with metal guitar god Yngwie Malmsteen, Yngve Ekström (1913–1988) is the cofounder of Swedese, a furniture producer based in, of all places, Sweden. The company hit its stride with Ekström’s 1956 Lamino chair, which became an icon of Nordic design and provided the template for decades of Ikea knockoffs. Ekström served at Swedese for over 40 years until his death in 1988.

Pedini has been producing sophisticated luxury kitchens since 1956 and has prestigious heritage – globally renowned as one of Italy’s best style-exports on a par with Gucci, Armani, Lamborghini and Alessi – and one of the first companies to produce the modular kitchen. The company experiments with a range of new and innovative materials and is known for the flair and creativity that it brings to the industry, interpreting that the luxury segment demands. Pedini is a leader in the kitchen design industry and a pioneer in setting new trends for more than 50 years.

Pantone Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric and plastics. Pantone, as it is today, was founded in 1962, when the company—at the time a small business that manufactured color cards for cosmetics companies—was bought by Lawrence Herbert, who had been an employee since 1956. He immediately changed its direction, developing the first color matching system in 1963. In 2007, Herbert retired from the position of CEO, Chairman, and President of the company. The company's primary products include the Pantone Guides, which consist of a large number of small (approximately 6×2 inches or 15×5 cm) thin cardboard sheets, printed on one side with a series of related color swatches and then bound into a small flipbook. For instance, a particular "page" might contain a number of yellows of varying tints. Pantone Universe is the company's new online magzine, which showcases the contemporary color trends in fashion, beauty, and home the home.

Korab was born in 1926 in Budapest, Hungary. As a young man, his studies of architecture at the Polytechnicum were interrupted in 1949 by the necessity to escape his country’s communist regime. In a prevailing trend of overseas emigration he opted for France, where in Paris he attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts obtaining his diploma of architecture in 1954. During this time, Korab worked throughout Europe as a journeyman with notable architects, including Le Corbusier. Coming to the United States in 1955, Korab was hired by Eero Saarinen where he began experimenting with the use of photography as part of the design development process. In 1956 he was awarded fourth place in the international design competition for the Sydney Opera House, and in 1958, invited by Frank Lloyd Wright to join Taliesin as both an architect and photographer. In 1964 Korab received the prestigious AIA Medal for Architectural Photography, recognizing his worldwide coverage of prominent architects. By now photography of architecture was his main occupation. In 1994, President Clinton offered a portfolio of Korab’s photographs as a state gift to Arpad Goncz, the president of Hungary. Korab currently lives in Troy, Michigan with his wife Monica.

The mission of the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is to collect, display, and interpret objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the Museum celebrates the creative process through which materials are crafted into works that enhance contemporary life. MAD champions contemporary makers across creative fields, presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.

Born in Oleggio (Novara) in 1927, Carlo Mazzeri graduated in architecture from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura in Venice in 1956 and, after an early collaboration with Carlo Scarpa in Venice, with the architect Mario Righini’s studio he took part in the competition for the Colonia Olivetti in Brusson and the Carrara Chamber of Commerce, and took one of the top places. In 1957 he designed the cocktail shaker “870” with Luigi Massoni, which was one of the first Alessi objects designed by external collaborators and which is still in production and can be found in bars worldwide. In the ‘60s and ‘70s with Anselmo Vitale he designed a complete collection of objects for Alessi which were primarily for use in the hotel industry. He was involved in civil and industrial construction, responsible among other things for the Alessi plant in Omegna (1960-1971), the Girmi electrical household appliances factory (1962) and the Lagostina offices (1964), which were also in Omegna, the renovation of the driers and the new warehouse for 3M Italia in Ferrania (1970) and the Salumificio Romano Mainelli in Oleggio (1972). In the field of industrial design he has also collaborated with Girmi, Lagostina, Bialetti, Indesit, Fonderie Filiberti and Triplex. In 1973 he opened a studio of architecture in Novara, becoming involved in civil architecture, restoration and town planning.

Luigi Massoni (Milan, 1930) designer and architect, was responsible for the A&D in Cermenate (Como). After a period of training at the Collettivo di Architettura in Milan and his first professional experiences between 1953 and 1955, he began his design career by making the cocktail shaker (1957, with Carlo Mazzeri) and the Serie 5 containers, which are still in production, for Alessi. Between 1957 and 1960, with C.De Carli he contributed to the professional and production renewal, participating in various events and in the foundation of the magazine “Il Mobile Italiano.” In 1959, by taking into partnership a group of furniture manufacturers, he became the organiser of the foundation of Mobilia and that same year he also joined Boffi as a production coordinator and designer, creating some of the first ever modular systems for the home and kitchen. It was from this experience that, still in his capacity as designer and art director, he enhanced the image of Poltrona Frau (1968-1976); Fratelli Guzzini (1963-1976), he designed the set of bowls Bolo cubo (1962) and the dinner service Vanessa (1969); iGuzzini (1965-1976), this relationship was later revived in the early 1990s, when he also worked with Cedit, Gabbianelli, Sirrah and Venini. Born in Oleggio (Novara) in 1927, Carlo Mazzeri graduated in architecture from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura in Venice in 1956 and, after an early collaboration with Carlo Scarpa in Venice, with the architect Mario Righini’s studio he took part in the competition for the Colonia Olivetti in Brusson and the Carrara Chamber of Commerce, and took one of the top places. In 1957 he designed the cocktail shaker “870” with Luigi Massoni, which was one of the first Alessi objects designed by external collaborators and which is still in production and can be found in bars worldwide. In the ‘60s and ‘70s with Anselmo Vitale he designed a complete collection of objects for Alessi which were primarily for use in the hotel industry. He was involved in civil and industrial construction, responsible among other things for the Alessi plant in Omegna (1960-1971), the Girmi electrical household appliances factory (1962) and the Lagostina offices (1964), which were also in Omegna, the renovation of the driers and the new warehouse for 3M Italia in Ferrania (1970) and the Salumificio Romano Mainelli in Oleggio (1972). In the field of industrial design he has also collaborated with Girmi, Lagostina, Bialetti, Indesit, Fonderie Filiberti and Triplex. In 1973 he opened a studio of architecture in Novara, becoming involved in civil architecture, restoration and town planning.

The story begins in 1756 in Bohemia and continues right down to the united Europe of today, taking in on the way some of the most dramatic events in European history. The Riedel family has been in the glass business for 300 years, with 11 generations keeping the family business intact. The story begins in 1678 in the northern part of Bohemia, bordering Schlesia - today the Czech republic and Poland respectively. This part of Bohemia was a German speaking enclave known as the Sudetenland. The Venetians brought back the knowledge of glass making from the Near East around 1.000 A.D. The knowledge of producing glass spread slowly towards the northern part of Europe, searching for energy, critical to the melting of glass. Wood was the source, causing a glassmaker migration to the forests. Due to this migration, a glass culture developed in Bohemia in the 17th century. After being a prison during WWII, Claus Reidel returned to his village. The head of the local glassworks, Swarovski, had heard that there was a Riedel in town and asked to see him. Swarovski had been taught the art of glass making by Claus's great grandfather Josef, and took Claus under his wing like a son, even sending him to university to study chemistry. Claus Riedel, now married to Italian Adia, whom he had met in Italy during the war, moved around doing various jobs between 1951 and 1956, ending up in Innsbruck, Austria. This was around the time that the Swarovskis were approached to take over a glass works in the small town of Kufstein near Innsbruck in Austria, but they declined as the production of stemware did not fit their profile. Claus had no capital to buy the works, but the Swarovskis advanced him the money, and Claus took over the bankrupt Tiroler Glashütte, today's Riedel factory. After a period of readjustment, Walter threw himself into the new business with his son, but they had quite different ideas in terms of priorities - Claus was very keen on the production of stemware and Walter preferred high output items. This led to an inevitable The Riedel glassworks had a brand new direction - unadorned, delicate, fine wine glasses. In his 1961 catalogue, Claus Riedel displayed for the first time his vision of glasses specially made to enhance specific styles of wine, distinguishing the Riedel company more than ever before, as to date fashion in stemware had been dictated purely by aesthetics, not function. The handmade Sommeliers series was launched in 1973, introducing the revolutionary new concept to the wine trade and changing the world of wineglasses forever. In his research into how the shape of a glass affects the wine inside, Claus discovered one major factor - that virtually every glass people drank wine from was too small to do justice to the wine. The Sommeliers Series was showered with prizes from around the world. Georg Riedel, tenth generation, further developed Claus's theories, producing grape-specific glasses, and mechanizing the production of fine wine glasses with his Vinum series, making Riedel glasses far more affordable to wine lovers the world over. A milestone in the modern Riedel company is the founding of a Riedel company in the United States, which came about following an encounter between Robert Mondavi and Georg Riedel, showing real commitment to the US market. While Claus was a talented designer, as recognised by the National Olympic Committee when they commissioned him to design and produce vases for the 1968 Olympic Games, his son Georg brought a calming, analytical eye to the business, soon spotting weaknesses in the corporate structure. As Georg took over more and more of the strategy for the business, Claus gradually became less involved, until Georg took the helm of the company in 1987, where he remains to this day.