Italian design Italian furniture include Zanussi's rigorous, creative and streamlined washing machines and fridges, the "New Tone" sofas by Atrium, and most famously the innovative post-modern bookcase, made by Ettore Sottsass for the Memphis Group in 1981, inspired by Bob Dylan's song "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again". The bookcase became a huge cultural icon and design event of the 1980s. Modern Italian design has changed the meaning of style and elegance and many interior designers use Italian or Italian inspired pieces in their work. Stunning examples are found in the ranges by Slide Designs, Belta Frajumar and Lumen
Memphis Furniture Memphis Furniture Memphis Furniture Manufacturing Company was the largest component of what was once the largest furniture manufacturing operation in the United States. It was founded in 1896 by Robertson Morrow and, despite a major fire in 1904, quickly grew to include Little Rock Furniture, New Orleans Furniture, and Oklahoma City Furniture. Memphis Furniture itself employed over 1,000 people at its peak. By the late 1970s, it faced growing competition from Carolina furniture manufacturers and unionization of its workforce. The multi-story urban manufacturing facility that was so efficient in the 1920s was not competitive with the large, single story rural