Your new Palm Beach atelier feels like a glamorous leap across the Atlantic. When did you know Florida needed a touch of Salvagni?
After thoughtful research and site visits across the country, we landed on Palm Beach because of how closely both the city and its people align with the ethos of the atelier. For me, Palm Beach represents a unique balance between heritage and modern sophistication. It’s a place where tradition and a sense of timeless elegance naturally coexist—both values that have always guided my work.
How does Palm Beach’s social rhythm reshape your design language?
Palm Beach has a fascinating duality. It is a place deeply rooted in its own history, yet it wears that history lightly, with grace, humor, and freedom. The gallery blends this sense of refinement and irony with a beauty lived with ease, creating a new cultural home. It is airy and filled with light, and its location on Worth Avenue sits among fashion boutiques and brands that uphold the same guiding values of craftsmanship and elegance.
For those stepping inside the atelier for the first time, what do you want them to feel in juxtaposition to your London and New York showrooms?
After London’s classical rigor and New York’s architectural intensity, Palm Beach introduces a new register. One emotion I hope they feel is a sense of levity. I hope they find joy in my designs.
You’ve often blurred the line between collectible art and livable design. When does an object stop simply being a chair or a chandelier and start becoming a functional sculpture?
When it evokes emotion before it performs a function. Design gives an authentic aesthetic to a practical need. When it exceeds this, it blurs into art. A chair must be comfortable. A chandelier must give light. But if the first reactions are emotional—curiosity, desire, even slight uneasiness—then the object has crossed into another dimension. I don’t see art and design as separate territories. We live surrounded by objects; they shape our daily rituals.
Italy is endlessly romanticized, but what has Palm Beach taught you about glamour that Rome never could?
There’s an old-world elegance and heritage to Palm Beach that is unique yet mirrors the romance of Italy. The city gently balances opulence with restraint, legacy with the future. These characteristics have inspired me to create pieces in new colors, finishes, and motifs.
When you need inspiration, where do you disappear to in Palm Beach?
I love walking along the Lake Trail at sunset. The light over the Intracoastal Waterway has something almost Mediterranean about it—soft, diffused, generous. It allows the mind to slow down. For coffee, I occasionally retreat to Sant Ambroeus or our neighbor Le Bilboquet. There is a composure and quiet elegance in both places that remind me of a mix between Milan and Paris.
Where in Palm Beach do you insist on taking guests to dinner when you want to seduce them?
Seduction is always about the atmosphere. If I want energy with refinement, I might choose Tutto Mare, designed by my friend Enrico Bonetti from Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture DPC. For something more informal and transportive, I love Carriage House. The courtyard, the candlelight, the intimacy—it all feels like stepping into a more elegant decade. Ultimately, whether in design or in dining, the principle is the same: Light must flatter, materials must feel honest, and the setting must allow conversation to unfold naturally.
If your future self walked into the Palm Beach atelier, what would you hope to see?
I dream that the Palm Beach gallery becomes a cultural home for locals and visitors alike. To help achieve this, we plan to activate the space with aligned brands, neighbors, and community leaders for celebratory moments as well as cycle new pieces into the environment often.
