Once a week, like clockwork, I happen to meet the members of the Edra Club, usually accompanied by Monica or Valerio, who launch out into an impromptu introduction of me and my job. By and large inclined to stay in the background, they stop me for a few nice greetings, usually led off by: "How many years have you been with us, now? "... 
And we are off to a bad start, because it is an unveiled admission of real old age. The only response can be either shrugging your shoulders or puffing out your chest with pride. Luckily, though, then the conversation tends to quickly slide off from the temporal to the material amount of my job, not least, or above all, because of my technical role.
It’s a crossfire of experiences, meetings and the most revealing anecdotes, adapted to the moment and to the audience. But never once was I spared a reminder of the moniker Massimo Morozzi pinned on me as the third Campana brother. In fact, Fernando and Humberto already have a brother, so I don’t think they need a fourth one, and a secret one, besides, and from overseas; I guess my role as an interpreter/translator of their forma mentis is quite enough for them.

In other words, a classification that might apparently undermine family or blood ties, but such as to throw open one of my favourite subjects, the relations that one builds as one hangs around the re-creation club that is Edra. 
The existence of Edra, the company, as others certainly do, is punctuated by daily rituals and personal figures that belong to that permanently-open and intensely familiar photo album.
One starts with ‘light’ relations, which then turn into exceptional ones over time: the relations with the designers, nay, the authors, and with all the people in between, whether they are members of staff, suppliers or consultants, turn out to be essential and absolutely crucial once the communion of intents coincide.

Knowing, and knowing each other, is an investment that boosts and increases the quality and development of a product.

An earnest contribution and the ensuing exchange can open up new or unexpected points of view: the only limit of an individual as such as his individual knowledge and his individual projection. A project involves the cooperation of multiple parties, where, in turn, each one contributes – I am quoting Massimo Vignelli - with the Semantics, the Syntactics and the Pragmatics.

One starts with a meaning that will point to the layout, so as to understand the spirit, the behaviours and the connections with the company’s modus operandi. The Syntactics will show the processes, languages, relations among the components, so we can eventually question ourselves about the Pragmatics, that is, the practical meaning of a product: is it useful? Does it need to be explained? Is the final appearance clear or still uncertain? Ephemeral, or short-lived, or unaffected by trends and styles? 

The moral imperative at Edra is striving to design things that have a long aesthetic and practical life, or at least we try. The word Innovation has its place in all this, but, despite automatically suggesting technological advancement, at the company it is translated as ‘offering an actual improvement’,

more often than not the fruitful result of human mental effort rather than a technological-mechanical one. It’s not an essential ingredient but it makes a product easier to communicate. 

Thus, all the work carried out, is tightly bound to the many members of the Edra Club, each one keeping the attention focussed on the achievement of projects and products and processes, as opposed to the current trend towards disposability. The longer these people stay, the more they can give. So, once a day, like clockwork, I happen to feel I have to positively use my mind for essential constructive sociability. "Pleased to meet you! I am responsible for product development!"

Leonardo Volpi Born in 1961, after studying art, he opened his own design firm. He started various collaborations, where he was responsible for design, prototyping, photo shoots and exhibition plans. An important background where he grew professionally, taking a realistic approach to design, which a few years ago led him to be appointed Edra’s Prototype Development and Design Manager.