A Useful Recommendation with Michela Pelizzari

Every April, the Italian city of Milan becomes just that little bit more tasteful — thanks to the arrival of Salone, the annual furniture fair. Michela Pelizzari helps the whole thing run smoothly. The communication consultant, and her company P:S, have worked with the fair since 2010.

Naturally, spring is a busy time for Michela, who is a Milan native. She describes Salone as “a week full of adrenaline and emotions” but also one when it is “nice to see all of my friends and collaborators from all around the world all in the same place.”

Michela’s friends are an enviable bunch of designers — the artist Pierre Marie designed her house, while the award-winning India Mahdavi made a favourite item in her home: the Bishop stool. While not everyone’s idea of useful, Michela’s choice celebrates her as exactly who she is — a woman of influence, surrounded by beautiful things.

The Bishop stool was a gift from India, which makes it really special to me. We’ve been friends for a long time, and we still work together, it’s a very natural, ongoing exchange. Over the years, we’ve collaborated on different projects and with brands like cc-tapis and Villa Medici. I was first drawn to her work because of her unmistakable use of color and form. Being close to her world now, I see even more how that playful yet refined language comes to life, and this piece feels like a perfect expression of it.

The stool is in my home, where I both live and work. The space is divided in two: one area for my team, and another that remains more private, which I only open on certain occasions. The two come together in the living room, where I host friends, collaborators, and my team, gathering to share ideas, whether in a more formal setting or around one of my dinners. The Bishop sits in my bedroom, which is a kind of sacred space where I keep very few objects—only what feels necessary. In this case, India Mahdavi’s Bishop holds books.

Flowers are always welcome, but beyond that I look for balance. I’m drawn to objects with a clear identity that don’t impose themselves, pieces that can hold their own while living well with others. Most of what I keep carries a personal meaning, often tied to a person, place, or project. I’m also keen on scent and tableware, especially for all the hosting I do. The space has been designed as a container capable of holding the projects we follow, and those objects are present throughout, such as MDF Italia, Tacchini, and UNNO Gallery, among others.

26 years of the best school I’ve gotten to experience — working in the design industry with clients, projects, architects, designers, selected projects and so on. Keeping my mind open to giving and receiving advice. I started with Erica Calvi, the first press office dedicated to design, which deeply shaped Milan’s cultural landscape in the 1990s, and later spent many years at the Politecnico di Milano, coordinating the publishing house and special events communication.

Travel, in particular, has a strong influence on how I see and understand objects. Egypt, for example, is a place I feel very connected to. Being there has shaped my sensitivity to materials, light and atmosphere in a very direct way. That connection also translates into the projects I support, like ABI, a stone design brand based between Cairo and Milan that works with materials from ancient Egyptian quarries, transforming them into contemporary pieces.

Yes. Objects that are quite present in my home are T-shirts, matches and cigarettes; they were also part of my agency’s logo in 2024. Every year for Salone we develop a new identity for the occasion, we have collaborated with Studio Blanco, Daniel Sansavini, Giga Design Studio, and this year with Giorgio Di Salvo and No Text. Each year we have new custom matchboxes which we give out at our
events.

Building my second house, for which I have to keep working hard and getting my hands dirty to make it happen.