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
Ettore Sottsass design. In 1949 Sottsass married Fernanda Pivano, a writer, journalist, translator and critic. In 1956, Sottsass traveled to New York City and began working in the office of George Nelson. He and Pivano traveled widely while working for Nelson, and returned to Italy after a few months. Also in 1956, Sottsass was commissioned by the American entrepreneur Irving Richards on an exhibition of his ceramics. Back in Italy in 1957, Sottsass joined Poltronova, a semi-industrial producer of contemporary furniture, as an artistic consultant. Much of the furniture he worked on there influenced the design he would create later with Memphis