stepevi | the caresse collection

Reflections of time.
The staircase designed
by architect Torsten Stern
of Stern Architekten
wempe.com

As the fifth generation at Wempe, Chiara and Scott Wempe are in no hurry to reinvent the house their family built. They want it to last and to keep doing what it has always done well since 1878, while moving it forward into another era. The siblings share the job of heading up business development, but as soon as you sit down with them, the contrast in their personalities becomes clear.

“Chiara is the more analytic type,” Scott explains. “She listens a little bit longer before she makes up her mind, which I think is a good quality. I form an opinion quite fast, but I’m happy to change that opinion if the arguments are there”. Chiara, meanwhile, prefers to see all the data before making decisions. “My brother is the more creative side,” she says, “as you can see already by how much jewellery he’s wearing compared to me!” 

Those instincts have roots. Chiara has a BSc in International Management and an MSc in Corporate Performance & Restructuring. She has also trained with weights since adolescence. “It’s the groundwork for everything that I do,” she tells us. “You go to the gym and you train until failure, and then you learn that you’re capable of doing much more than you think.” Scott’s formation was British, having studied at Lancing College,

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The fifth generation.
Chiara and Scott Wempe at Stubbenhuk 10,
the historic Hamburg house that reflects
Wempe’s watchmaking heritage
wempe.com

left
Precision in parts.
A watchmaker fits the rotating bezel, with case, bracelet
and crystal separated so specialists can work in parallel.
watch. Rolex Submariner
middle
Restored to shine.
Bracelets await refurbishment at the polishing station,
one of around 67,000 service procedures handled
by the house last year.
right
The final check.
Every serviced watch passes a visual
inspection before it returns to its owner.
watch. Wempe Chronometerwerke

HWA EVO.R X Wempe created by Hanna Schönwald.
As the official timing partner, Wempe ran this livery to the finish
of the 2026 ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring.
image. Courtesy of Wempe

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words. Raoul Keil
photography. Stephanie Pistel

‘Itaca’ collection/ Talenti.

By August, the garden has usually developed a hierarchy of its own: the good chair has become contested territory, the table is permanently covered in glasses and eating outside is a sacred rule. Talenti seems well aware of this seasonal shift, arriving with a collection designed for people who have no intention of returning to the living room just yet.

Created by Italian architect and designer Carlo Colombo, ‘Itaca’ is the latest addition to Talenti’s outdoor universe and a continuation of his relationship with the Umbrian furniture brand, following the woven Tressé collection. Where Tressé explored the geometry of the cube and intricate eco-leather bands, ‘Itaca’ takes a more expansive approach, borrowing its name and conceptual starting point from the homecoming of Odysseus – with extra points if Christopher Nolan’s recent take on the story has already put Ithaca back on your radar.

Fortunately, no one is expected to spend ten years at sea to get there. Colombo’s version of Ithaca begins with a series of modules that can be arranged, separated and reconfigured depending on how much space, company or lounging ambition is involved. The central idea is closer to an archipelago than a conventional three-seater: individual elements gather into larger compositions, which can then break apart again as needed.

‘Itaca’ collection/ Talenti.

‘Itaca’ collection/ Talenti.

Flexibility was central to the collection from the beginning. “We started from a structure, a very strong base of fairly generous dimensions, made entirely of wood, on which it was necessary to find details capable of attaching all the various elements,” Colombo explains. “The solution was to really work on this wonderful detail, namely a panel that comes and fits directly into the wooden structure.”

The modular sofa sits at the heart of the collection, built on substantial Accoya wood bases with generously proportioned cushions arranged above them. Rounded edges soften the structure, while interchangeable configurations allow the system to stretch from a relatively compact terrace arrangement to a considerably more ambitious outdoor lounge. Talenti currently offers the range alongside a three-seat sofa, pouf and swivel living armchair, meaning the collection can gradually take over the garden if given enough encouragement.

‘Itaca’ collection/ Talenti.

Materials are exceptionally good to ensure maximum comfort and luxurious look. The Accoya wood structure comes in honey-toned natural and rosewood-inspired finishes, paired with fabrics spanning softer neutrals through to mustard and green. Coffee and dining tables extend the same language through rounded wooden profiles and stone surfaces, with options referencing white Carrara marble and Titanium Travertine. The range includes several coffee-table formats, larger dining tables, dining chairs and even a sunbed, making ‘Itaca’ a fairly persuasive argument for never booking a table indoors again.

Colombo’s attention to construction continues throughout the collection. “Instead of making fabric panels or panels in other materials, we preferred to work with fairly rigid elements that at the same time are linked to the elegance and sophistication of the product, creating this collection, which remains solid and firmly anchored to the ground,” he says.

Talenti has also continued expanding the collection throughout 2026. ‘Itaca’ was among the brand’s new offerings at Maison&Objet in Paris at the beginning of the year, before appearing again during Milan Design Week, where the wider Talenti universe explored the increasingly open relationship between indoor and outdoor living. New lounge-height tables have since joined the family, further stretching the collection beyond the traditional idea of garden furniture.

‘Itaca’ collection/ Talenti.

That movement between categories reflects a broader direction for Talenti. Long established as an outdoor furniture specialist, the Italian company has increasingly approached exterior spaces with the same level of material consideration, comfort and flexibility traditionally reserved for interiors. ‘Itaca’ is perhaps one of the clearest expressions of that idea.

Summer might eventually end, although Talenti clearly prefers not to dwell on such unpleasant possibilities. Until then, Itaca offers plenty of ways to rearrange the furniture, extend lunch into dinner and turn the outdoor space into somewhere considerably harder to leave. After all, Odysseus had to travel across the Mediterranean to find his way home, but Carlo Colombo has made the journey considerably shorter.

Discover the ‘Itaca’ collection here.

photography. courtesy of Talenti
words. Gennaro Costanzo

The architecture of a face.
Inside the modelling department,
artisans assemble plaster mould sections
to construct a figurative vase.

Before porcelain becomes an object, it begins as an encounter: a hand shaping a surface, a brush following a pattern, a maker understanding exactly how much pressure is needed to transform a material. Touch is one of the first ways we understand the world; it’s how we communicate, create and connect. For almost 300 years, Ginori 1735 has built its history upon that relationship, bringing the language of Italian porcelain into homes around the world through objects made to be held, used and remembered.

When entering the Manifattura di Sesto Fiorentino, the first thing you notice is the showroom – where every current and recent Ginori 1735 collection is displayed, from the graphic lines of ‘Labirinto’ to the architectural geometry of ‘Catene’. A piece from Luke Edward Halls’ ‘Il Viaggio di Nettuno’ sits on one stand with its sea gods and seahorses painted in aqueous greens. Beside you, there are plates in deep azalea and amber, and vases in the carnation-strewn ‘Oriente Italiano’ pattern, first reinterpreted by Gio Ponti in 1923. Each piece is crafted just steps away in the Manifattura.

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Holding three centuries of design decisions.
Inside the Voltone Archive, rows of numbered plaster moulds
dating back to 1735 serve as a reference for today’s designers.

Waiting in the white.
Whiteware rests between firings, porous and fragile after
its first pass through the kiln at 1,000 degrees.

left
Finding beauty in the broken.
Conceptual prototypes, original sketches and kiln-damaged pieces
serve as an active archive.
right
Tracking the geometric line.
An artisan hand-paints the sharp graphic architecture
of Gio Ponti’s iconic ‘Catene’ pattern.

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words. Gennaro Costanzo
photography. Gianluca Caruso