Sustainability in Deanna Comellini’s Work and Daily Life

A deep commitment for the environment is at the core of the creative and productive process of Deanna Comellini, G.T.DESIGN’s Founder and Creative Director. It is something instinctive that is part of her daily life and her work.

Raised in Bologna’s countryside, she kept a close relationship with nature throughout her life and her career, which became a constant influence in her collections. Rugs in hemp, bamboo, coconut and linen are all natural fibers that Deanna Comellini have used in her creations since the beginning of the 80s, when only a few spoke about sustainability.

In 2008, she acquired a plot of land in the outskirts of Modena, in close distance from G.T.DESIGN’s headquarters, where they were planted 1000 trees. The project is part of a context of an area rich of cultural traditions, a slice of Italy where many of the country’s excellences are produced, from exquisite food to cutting edge design. The idea is born from the desire to redevelop a part of the territory exploited by intensive farming while taking inspiration from contemporary landscape painters such as Gilled Clément, creating spaces where nature is left free of expression with no constraints, becoming a welcoming and immersive environment for animals and people.

Today, this small forest became a small green lung inhabited by animals and birds that were not seen for a long while, and is popular among the neighborhood kids as a space of play and discovery. The nature, when respected and supported, creates fascinating and surprisingly complex landscapes, often unimaginable by man. It is fitting that one of Deanna latest collections is named Moving Forest, a tribute to the magnificent world of forests, that offers the feeling of bringing nature at home.

Sustainability continues to be at the center of G.T.DESIGN’s corporate philosophy. The company favors natural fibers with productive cycles and a low environmental impact, featuring easily renewable materials that don’t require large use of water and a manufacturing process with low Co2 emissions, uses non-toxic azo-free dies, and, finally, utilizes completely recyclable natural and synthetic packaging.