Cargo: practicality, aesthetics, ethics and... irony
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Cargo: practicality, aesthetics, ethics and... irony

Originality and style lie in elegance and simplicity, in rediscovering and appreciating artisanal techniques and traditional industrial environments, but without taking yourself too seriously. This is idea behind Cargo, which has been selling furniture and household items from Italy, the United States, the Far East and Latin America since the early 1980s. We interview the founding partner and managing director, Mauro Bacchini 

Are there any new trends in home furnishing? What are your latest releases?

 

For the past year, we’ve gone back to living at home and experiencing the home as our own space, the one we spend most of our time in and want to be welcoming and say something about us. Whether it's a studio apartment or a penthouse, today home is where we usually spend our free time and our work time. So it has to be welcoming, practical and aesthetically pleasing. These needs, as well as paying due attention to furnishings’ sustainability, have shaped a style that’s simple, natural and straightforward. Our furnishings have always been along these lines: furniture and accessories in wood and natural materials, essential and balanced ranges, timeless objects inspired by wabi-sabi, an aesthetic view that, naturally, becomes ethical as well.

 

How do you choose the companies you work with? How do you select products?

Objects – whether furniture, accessories or utensils – tell stories, and we believe that a lot of their value comes from the memory they hold. Our process of creating and selecting of products follows three main guidelines: practicality, choosing objects that have a tradition of use (a standard from previous eras that is still current); aesthetics: we seek out and create designs in line with the idea of simple, imperfect beauty; ethics: we’re familiar with our products’ production chain and we also choose companies to collaborate with based on their respect for the environment and their workers. Last but not least, we aim to bring irony in wherever possible: because laughing does you good and taking yourself too seriously doesn’t.

 

E-commerce vs retail: has your way of selling changed and, if so, how? And what’s the outcome?

The shopping experience has changed, and so has our way of selling: during the lockdowns we strengthened our social media channels and initiated a personal shopping service via WhatsApp, with great success both on our e-commerce and in-store. We’re definitely in the middle of a period of change which is pushing more towards e-commerce, but human relationships, direct relationships with customers, are still a key point, whether they're face-to-face or virtual. And Cargo & HighTech are places to experience as physical spaces as well.

 

New (or rediscovered) values: increasing focus on Made in Italy, sustainability or other values. How important is this for your customers? How do you develop your projects in this respect?

We’ve always favoured natural materials and ranges, respecting both the environment and areas of production. For us, it’s vitally important: the production conditions, both in Italy and abroad, are always checked by us directly and have to be sustainable, for the workers and for the planet. We pass these values on to our customers who, for their part, demonstrate and affirm their interest in and demand for increasingly sustainable and traceable products. One example? Cargo's new TAKE CARE line: organic, biodegradable and sustainable products for personal and household care.