Italians are well-known for clothing, automotive design and, of course, their outstanding food. Perhaps less well-known is their furniture. Fred Silberman set out to change this. They specialize in Italian twentieth century decorative arts. Starting business operations nearly fifty years ago, the owners decided to specialize in Italian furniture in the late ‘70s, because "nobody else was doing it," and because the Italian style is a “style all their own.” The result is a unique inventory -- none of the pieces are mass-manufactured, instead designed individually and hand-crafted between 1920 and 1970. Naturally, no new such pieces are being produced, therefore every item is bought from a previous owner; some have quite interesting back-stories, many having escaped damage during World War II. The owner, Tom Stewart, engaged us with some of his fascinating stories of travel through Italy over the decades. True to the spirit of the dolce vita, the designers of the furniture mix the old with the new, and the past influences the design of the pieces in the store. As Tom passionately explained to us, “everything has a soul, everything has a history.” The craftsmanship is elegant and imaginative, and the pieces are beautiful.