Art, design and an eye always focused on craftsmanship. The 100% made in Italy brand Mark Pepper was born in the picturesque setting of the Amalfi Coast, from the creative genius of two artists: Marco Fusco and Giuseppe Palermo, who self-produce artisanal design objects. Their works are characterized by a great irony and originate from a real interaction between man, the surrounding environment and the raw material. Marco Fusco, a young ceramist from Minori, starts from the local tradition of artisanal ceramics, creating his own artistic interpretations oriented to

Art, design and an eye always focused on craftsmanship. The 100% made in Italy brand Mark Pepper was born in the picturesque setting of the Amalfi Coast, from the creative genius of two artists: Marco Fusco and Giuseppe Palermo, who self-produce artisanal design objects. Their works are characterized by a great irony and originate from a real interaction between man, the surrounding environment and the raw material. Marco Fusco, a young ceramist from Minori, starts from the local tradition of artisanal ceramics, creating his own artistic interpretations oriented towards shapes, colours and designs. Fusco began his career starting from the inspiring motives that the territory offers him, but he also finds inspiration in Escher graphics and Dolker ceramics, from the tones and colours of the African Maghreb, the arabesque motifs of the beautiful churches on the coast. It must be said that Marco Fusco hates stereotypes and banality, and the mere repetition of tradition: so he transforms it without betraying it, through an endless experimentation. The artist has never been afraid to prove himself with new artistic forms, so that also the most common object - as it could be a cup of coffee - becomes something unique and very personal. Giuseppe Palermo, born in Maiori, is a visual artist. Its production is strongly influenced by a constant research and testing of concrete mixes, wood and other recycled elements. When a Designer who is true to traditional processing techniques starts working clay to create his objects, contamination with design and artistic talent create amazing handcrafted design collections. Unbelievable? Well, Marco Fusco - the ceramist from Minori - and Giuseppe Palermo (called Peppe) - the artist from Maiori - when producing furnishings together become Mark Pepper: a brand that self-produces handcrafted design. Marco Fusco is inspired by the local tradition of ceramics, proving himself in an artistic vision oriented towards colours, shapes and very personal designs. Giuseppe Palermo is living and working in Rome. He is a visual artist and all his creations are influenced by a frantic search and testing of new materials: concrete mixtures, wood and even recycled materials. Two different personalities, but at the same time strongly connected by a strong artistic component, a constant need to understand and explore all kind of shapes. The Mark Pepper brand produces handcrafted design characterized by a strong sense of irony that comes from a realistic interaction between men, materials and the environment. Among their most famous creations, there are for sure the common buttons reinterpreted as useful coat hooks or as coasters. The button-shaped coat hook with chestnut wood eye designed by Mark Pepper is ready to decorate the walls of your home with a simple and elegant style. The button shape makes this accessory cute, lively, vibrant and original without forgetting the practical purpose for which it was created. A hanger that becomes a real piece of furniture to be used not only in the entrance area; on the contrary, it will easily become the protagonist of any room of the house, from the living area to the bedroom and why not the bathroom. Form becomes protagonist without affecting the functionality of the object. An accessory for the house, useful and decorative at the same time, with a lively soul, vital and above all very ironic. The best thing to keep your coats, dresses and hats in order, is to use original and beautifully designed hangers; when it comes to furnishing, hangers are too often overshadowed by the rest, while actually small things and details define the style of your home. This is exactly what the two founders of Mark Pepper brand must have thought when they created their fantastic line of wall hanger buttons with eyelet. Their production also includes plates made of classic white ceramic, such as those of the Tuffatore line, thanks to which you can enjoy your food even more. The production by Mark Pepper also includes many objects made of different materials; ceramic, concrete clocks and metal and wood lamps. When Marco Fusco creates in Minori and Peppe Palermo in Rome, they are "simply" the artisan and the artist. But when instead they work together on the Amalfi Coast, the Mark Pepper brand takes shape: a company that has been able to catch the attention of many international websites dealing with design. Mark Pepper was even mentioned on the "Home and Garden" page of the Los Angeles Times, in an article that bears the signature of Debra Prinzing. The brand owes its success to the mix of traditional and contemporary design; a well-composed synthesis of two personalities and two complementary artists. Playing and experimentation are the pillars of their projects and their creations in which the two partners decide to give shape to all their original ideas, keeping a light-hearted and ironic approach that wants to play with the same concepts of ceramic art and design. The artistic result of the union between these two artists are handmade products that are often unusual and unconventional. In LOVEThESIGN we had the opportunity to interview this multifaceted artist duo. Here's what Marco Fusco and Giuseppe Palermo revealed to us. Tell us who is Mark Pepper Mark Pepper is Marco Fusco and Giuseppe Palermo. If, like Kandinsky used to say, "imagination is intelligence having fun", Mark Pepper imagines even to live in two different people! From the encounter on the Amalfi Coast of our individual experiences, in a playful context filled with lightheartedness, humour and experimentation, originate the design and the character of Mark Pepper. Where do you get the inspiration for your products? What do you think about? Let's start with the second question, "what do you think about"? Absolutely nothing. Our problem is that our crap comes out spontaneously. This is the worrying thing. Many of our items come from some sort of comparison/duel between us, the classic game of "let's see who says the most stupid and incredible thing." And these are the only one that later we develop. Other objects are born from an individual and solitary reflection. There isn't a real process through which we find inspiration for our work, but it's more like a game characterized by the irony and carefreeness that pervade all our "inspirations." The object must be nice, useful, charming, artistic, exciting but also, and always, a bit stupid! What is your message? More than a message, with our items we try to convey an emotion that can be "useful" but many times even "useless". What counts is that it is an emotion to which you can hardly give up.

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