Alessi — Butterfly | Mari Design Nutcracker

Farfalla EM10 — The Nutcracker Reduced to the Essential

There is a point beyond which removing becomes an art. Enzo Mari found it in this small object: a slotted holder, a screw, a butterfly handle. Nothing more, nothing less. Holding it in your hand before using it is already a gesture that says something about the meaning of well-made things.

Why we chose it for you

Farfalla EM10 belongs to the Alessi Values Collection, the series with which Alessi celebrates the founding values of its identity. This piece represents the tenth value: Thingness, the quality of being a thing, the physical and conceptual presence of an object that justifies itself. Designed by Enzo Mari — one of the undisputed masters of twentieth-century Italian design — it emerged from his metaproject research into the removal of anything superfluous. It is made using lost-wax micro-casting, a technique that ensures formal precision and continuity between design and material. Founded in 1921 on Lake Orta, Alessi has continued for over a century to pursue this tension between industry and craftsmanship, between an object of use and cultural reflection.

Features

• Material: 18/10 stainless steel, produced using lost-wax micro-casting
• Dimensions: Length 6.1 cm · Width 1.8 cm · Height 10 cm
• Mechanism: Slotted holder for the nut and screw with butterfly handle
• Designer: Enzo Mari
• Collection: Alessi Values Collection — Value #10: Thingness

Ideal for

A gift for anyone who loves design as a form of thought, not just as aesthetics. An accessory to keep on the table during autumn lunches, when walnuts and hazelnuts take center stage again. And a small monument to place on a shelf, because some objects deserve to be seen even when they are not being used.