Mid2Mod: Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2008) was born in Innsbruck, Austria. He studied architecture in Turin, Italy, and opened a studio there in 1947.

He was a design consultant for Olivetti from 1958 to 1989, where he created the memorable Elea 9003 calculator and the famous red portable typewriter, commonly referred to as the Valentine typewriter, because it was released on Valentine's Day in 1969.

In the 1970s he designed housewares for Alessi, a decanter for Baccarat, a chair for Knoll and carpet for Namastre.

In the 1980s he was a founder and leading figure of Memphis, a Milan-based design group famous for brightly colored post-modern furniture, lighting and ceramics. The collection included works in glass, acrylic, aluminum and tropical wood. His Tahiti lamp from this period looks like a tropical bird with a long yellow neck and red beak.

Sottsass was known for his playfulness, his wit and his whimsical ornamentation, but he said, "Memphis is like a very strong drug. You cannot take too much. It's like eating only cake." Even he would probably say of this room, "Out of control!"

From latimes.com and nytimes.com