Collaborations
Paola Paronetto
Aina Kari
Swing Design Gallery
Mondelliani
PAOLA PARONETTO & GIOVANNI BOTTICELLI
The Reflections Collection was born from the encounter between Paola Paronetto’s Cartocci and Giovanni Botticelli’s work with glass and mirrors. It represents a singular alchemy between savoir-faire that are only apparently different, giving life to three families of objects with a composite and expressive core: Ring Nova, Ring Aura, Ninfee and Girasoli
Ring Nova
Ring Nova is a mirror with a sculptural essence, arising from the counterpoint between the soft, opaque paper clay rings and Giovanni Botticelli’s polychrome mirror surfaces. Poetic and graceful, it reveals itself as an expressive, shifting, and gentle presence that captures the dialogue between materiality and reflection.
Ring Aura
Ring Aura is a radiant mirror where light introduces an element of surprise. The delicate symbiosis between the soft shape of the paper clay ring and the iridescent, vibrant nature of Botticelli’s mirror surfaces creates a luminous and ever-changing object, both tactile and ethereal.
Ninfee
As light and thin as paper, the Ninfee—water lilies—welcome the enchantment of a reflective surface. They bring the poetic suggestions of water into their ephemeral, silent world, capturing glimmers of light and the iridescent grace of color.
Girasoli & Girasoli Circo
Girasoli is the newest creation of the Reflections collection, born from the collaborative minds of Paola Paronetto and Giovanni Botticelli, a designer exploring the mysteries of light and glass. The delicate and irregular materiality of paper clay meets the pristine surface of mirrors, creating a reflection on opposites and transformations. Within the domestic landscape, these entities—adorned with soft hues and curious heads—seem to follow the observer’s every move. Their corollas evoke sunflowers, yet they also resemble telescopes pointed toward the infinite. The Girasoli Circo reinterpret this theme, celebrating the natural and symbolic beauty of sunflowers through fresh, lively colors inspired by the Circo collection.
AINA KARI & GIOVANNI BOTTICELLI
The Illumination Collection by Aina Kari and Giovanni Botticelli embodies a beautiful synergy between light, reflection, and meaningful craftsmanship. Lighting a candle and gazing into a water mirror evokes primordial human rituals, and this collection builds on those natural gestures with a refined modern approach.
Aina Kari and Giovanni Botticelli had the opportunity to be part of the last three years of EDIT Napoli, the innovative design fair created to support, promote, and celebrate a new generation of designers. It was the perfect hub to meet, study, and appreciate each other’s creative work and to lay the foundations for a future joint collection. In the Illumination Collection, material combinations and contrasts generate a play of unique sensory impressions wherelines, curves, and full volumes meet. Mouth-blown Murano glass, hand-hammered brass, and colored reflective mirrors.
RISING SUN
It’s All About Aesthetics and Functionality | The subtle inclusion of candleholder frames enhances the intricate glass details, blending traditional techniques with contemporary aesthetics.
The extra-long 130 cm Murano glass candleholder in Champagne and the 45 cm illuminated bronze mirror gracefully diffuse light, offering a soft and unexpected illumination. Whether lit or not, each Rising Sun Wall Mirror & Candleholder stands as an iconic piece of Italian craftsmanship.
Black Gondola | Combining functionality and artistry, these illuminated wall mirrors double as decorative statements — featuring a Murano glass black gondola candleholder and a fumé-colored reflective mirror. This segment introduces refined, colored mirrors, minimally yet elegantly framed with mouth-blown Murano glass. With the antique rigadin pattern, the textured glass adds a sense of timeless sophistication to these wall-mounted designs.
The Harmony Between Noble Materials | Mouth-blown Murano glass, hand-hammered brass, and colored reflective mirrors come together in a dialogue of light and matter. In the Illumination Collection, material combinations and contrasts generate a play of unique sensory impressions — where lines, curves, and full volumes meet in perfect balance.
FOUR BRIDGES OVER CANAL GRANDE
A tribute to Venetian heritage | The collection pays homage to the legacy of Murano glassmaking while pushing its boundaries. Mouth-blown Murano glass adorned with the classic rigadin pattern sparkles with discreet, mesmerizing glares.
A bond of culture and recognition | Coveted collectible pieces steeped in rich Italian cultural heritage, reinterpreting the timeless concepts of candlelight and reflection.
The story behind | The sinuous, mouth-blown curve in deep hues of Murano glass, with its four “bridges” in hand-hammered brass, evokes the great beauty of the Grand Canal and its majestic palaces and bridges — the world-famous Rialto, Accademia, Ponte degli Scalzi, and the newest Constitution Bridge.
Each piece of the Illumination Collection is the result of a creative dialogue | New interpretations of the traditional world of candle lighting and mirroring — a bridge from a glorious past to a responsible future.
The complexity | The hammered brass tabletop pieces reinterpret traditional craftsmanship, emphasizing the tactile quality of hand-shaped copper. The warm, textured brass contrasts beautifully with the reflective mirrors and Murano glass, adding depth and an artisanal touch to each creation.
Uncompromising and rigorous artisan work | unique and singular presence Eclectic decorative objects with a freedom of use — positioned as it suits each client and lived as they desire.
Fusion of light and craftsmanship | This collection seamlessly merges form and function. The unparalleled quality of Murano glass, paired with Giovanni Botticelli’s playful interaction of multi-colored mirrors, captures and refracts light in a contemporary mood.
SAN MARCO
Exceptional crafts and eternal beauty | The San Marco Mirroring Collection by Aina Kari and Giovanni Botticelli captures the harmonious interplay of light, reflection, and exceptional craftsmanship. Venice — a city born of water and light — defies impermanence as reflections make its beauty seem infinite.
SWING DESIGN GALLERY & GIOVANNI BOTTICELLI
The collaboration between Giovanni Botticelli and Swing Design Gallery began after their meeting at the Salone Satellite during the 2016 Salone del Mobile in Milan. Together with Angela Da Silva, this partnership led to the creation of two solo exhibitions and three collections developed over approximately four years, marking the start of a long and fruitful creative relationship.
Equilibrista Mirrors
Inspired by the concept of equilibrium in multiple dimensions — the balance of volume and symmetry, where the constructive meets the graphic, and the anthropological dimension of harmony, order, and fulfillment — Equilibrista Mirrors explores the idea of weightless lightness through two-dimensional forms and muted colors. The playful interplay of mirrors and colored glass gives the collection its distinctive and poetic character.
The First Exhibition
The Equilibrista Mirrors collection was first presented in December 2017 as Giovanni Botticelli’s debut solo exhibition, entirely designed by him for Swing Design Gallery. Since then, it has remained in production, with pieces purchased and shipped worldwide. The collection has also been featured in significant contract and interior design projects both in Italy and abroad, affirming its lasting resonance and appeal.
Habitat Collection
Habitat began to take shape in 2017, born from Botticelli’s exploration of how techniques and materials traditionally used in eyewear production could be reimagined within the field of furniture design. Reinterpreting cellulose acetate, he focused on welding and bending techniques typical of eyewear making. The resulting color palette, inspired by independent eyewear design, features vibrant contrasts between tortoiseshell, transparent, and opaline shades. Exhibited at the gallery, the collection includes wall shelving, tables, and boxes — furnishings conceived as micro-architectures, spaces that preserve memory and merge rigorous design with material experimentation.
Second Exhibition and Extended Collaboration
Presented in a solo exhibition in June 2019, Habitat led to the extension of Botticelli’s collaboration with Swing Design Gallery and the introduction of a new project: the Equilibrium Room Divider. Produced in a limited, numbered edition, the collection was created exclusively for SWING Design Gallery, with special thanks to Mazzucchelli 1849, the historic company from Castiglione Olona — founded in 1849 and today a world leader in the production of cellulose acetate.
MONDELLIANI & GIOVANNI BOTTICELLI
Since 2012, Giovanni Botticelli has been collaborating with Mondelliani, the renowned Roman eyewear brand, designing the Soprattutto Mondelliani, Ottovolante, and Mondelliani Timeless collections. At the heart of this collaboration is the shared vision of the brand’s founders, Rosaria and Federico Mondello, whose guidance has transformed Mondelliani from a family business curating avant-garde eyewear into an independent design brand recognized internationally.
The collaboration offered Botticelli the unique opportunity to work closely with two figures who embody the brand’s culture: Rosaria, with her decades of experience in optics and style research, and Federico, who since 2005 has shaped the brand’s identity, leading it toward new design languages.
Over the years, Botticelli, Rosaria, and Federico have developed a continuous creative dialogue: materials, finishes, and proportions become instruments of shared expression. Their exchange has fostered a design philosophy rooted in both experimentation and coherence.
The collections — Soprattutto Mondelliani, Ottovolante, and Timeless — stand out for their coherent and experimental design language, where functionality, craftsmanship, and aesthetic sensitivity coexist naturally. Every model becomes a balanced blend of technical precision and artistic vision
For Giovanni Botticelli, collaborating with Rosaria and Federico means transforming ideas into objects that reflect a poetic vision of design: every detail — a curve, a reflection, a shift in color — is conceived together, under the founders’ guidance and with their active participation. The resulting collections tell a story of elegance, lightness, and visual presence: a way of conceiving eyewear as an extension of personality and as a truly designed object, created to endure over time.