A Chat with Tommaso Franchi from Tomèf Design
Maybe you spotted it at WOW!house 2025 in London, or perhaps just glimpsed it on social media, but Tomèf’s Penelope rug, designed for Tapistelar, is hard to miss.
Inspired by the art of craftsmanship and the vision of an innovative designer with a truly distinctive spirit, we sat down with Tommaso to explore the story behind Penelope: how he imagined it, and his thoughts on craftsmanship, collaboration, and innovation.
How did you choose the name Penelope for the rug?
I chose the name specifically with the idea of weaving in mind, of the intreccio, and that’s how Penelope came about. Penelope, who in the Odyssey wove and unwove her web, felt like a meaningful and fitting reference. It’s a name that connects directly to the concept behind this new pattern, which is, at its core, all about weaving.
Where did the inspiration for this pattern come from?
The inspiration really came from the WOW!house project. As I always do in my work, I found it interesting to create relationships between the different elements of the whol, elements that together build a narrative. In my projects, nothing is ever random. Every object, every detail is carefully considered; there’s always a reason behind it, a thought process that justifies its presence.
For this particular pattern, I was especially inspired by Bonacina, who recently released a beautiful book. At the end, it includes diagrams of various weaving patterns, intrecci, used to create the rattan textures in their pieces. One of those patterns really resonated with me, and that became the starting point for the new design, which we then developed and prototyped in collaboration with Tapistelar.
How did the connection between the brands influence the design?
I thought it could be interesting, within the context of WOW!house, to link the three companies, Bonacina, Fortuny, and Barovier & Toso, also on an aesthetic and narrative level, which then translates into the various design decisions for the interior. For example, in the idea of this new pattern, which was taken from one of Bonacina’s weaving methods used for weaving rattan or wicker, and that really inspired me.
So that was the origin of this rug, which was intended to be, as the name says, about weaving, so weaving means putting threads together, putting narratives together. My idea was exactly that: to create a weave that could also ideally intertwine the three stories of these three companies through a subtle, indirect narrative, but one that could unite them within the room’s story, through the skill and craftsmanship of Tapistelar and its artisans in Colombia.
What was the development process like with Tapistelar?
Giovina (Tapistelar's founder, ndr) sent me a couple of options starting from the idea of the pattern I had shared and drawn. We then redesigned it - yes, we were inspired by Bonacina’s pattern, but we redesigned it ourselves - creating our own pattern, and then, based on production limitations, linked to the type of machines, the capacity of the machinery to turn this 2D design into something physical, real, actually woven, we made our decisions. Based on this coordination and collaboration, we chose which direction to take.
How did you choose the color palette?
It was a very quick process with Giovina, because she would send me photos and I would immediately comment back, saying, “No, this one is definitely better than the other,” and we moved forward from there. For the first prototype, a specific color palette was chosen, with this aubergine red, agave fiber, and copper thread, because it was suited to the WOW!house room. But of course, the color combinations can be any from Tapistelar’s catalog.
How does craftsmanship play into the bigger picture of WOW!house?
Whether it’s an artisan, a master glassmaker, a weaver, a chair-maker, or someone crafting furniture pieces, I believe the human and artisanal element is absolutely essential. It was the leitmotif of this WOW!house experience, an idea I developed and championed from the beginning, originally together with Fortuny. It was very much a shared vision between us, and from there, I brought in the others, Bonacina, Barovier, and later Tapistelar, along with a few more companies.
What’s your broader vision for craftsmanship and design?
I believe the future lies in the appreciation of craftsmanship and the productive value of human labor, of the skills people acquire and refine over time, which, through mastery, become something truly noble. It's not about man as a machine, but man as a human being. For me, it's a kind of renaissance of savoir-faire, something that carries our tradition, our culture, our past, and also our future.
Especially now, when everything is increasingly shaped by the digital revolution, I think it's more important than ever. In the age of AI and artificial intelligence, manual skill, the deep knowledge of a technique that someone learns, makes their own, evolves, and preserves, is fundamental. I see it as a key part of the future of conscious living. That’s really the thinking behind the Penelope rug.