Sottsass Quotes & Sayings

I make no special difference between architecture and design, they are two different stages of invention. — Ettore Sottsass

Willem de Kooning as an artist is insane, Sonia Rykiel is amazing for her colour sensibility, and Ettore Sottsass was an architect and product designer who sometimes created clothes to go with his other designs. — Kelly Wearstler

Decoration can be a state of mind, an unusual perception, a ritual whisper. — Ettore Sottsass

I got the acting bug really young, when I was around, like, 10. I pretty much just wanted to be Michael J. Fox. He was in 'Teen Wolf' - that was, like, the coolest role, and then he did 'Back to the Future,' and that was the coolest role. — Bryan Greenberg

A chair must be really important as an object, because my mother always told me to offer my chair to a lady — Ettore Sottsass

When I was young, all we ever heard about was functionalism, functionalism, functionalism. It's not enough. Design should also be sensual and exciting. — Ettore Sottsass

My furniture is an exercise in architecture or architectural mood. — Ettore Sottsass

Another significant point to remember: if you witness anything - fear, anger, hate - they will disappear, leaving a tremendous amount of energy in you which you can use for creativity. You will have to use it, the leaking holes have disappeared; you will be overflowing with energy. But if you witness your love, compassion, kindness, humbleness, they will not disappear. They also have tremendous energy, but the more you witness them, the more they will become strong in you; they will overpower you, overwhelm you. — Rajneesh

That's what drew me to rock music in the first place - that sense of remaking the world on your own terms. — Stephan Jenkins

When the movie comes out, what anybody thinks of it doesn't really matter to me. I don't go to the wrap party. I don't go to the premiere. — Henry Rollins

Businesses that run well are almost like marriages. Everything has to be up for discussion, or there will be real problems. — Nobu Matsuhisa

Be patient, calm, compassionate. Know that existence is fleeting. — Ettore Sottsass

And glad you're takin' a chance on me. — Kristen Ashley

I try and be as stupid as possible regarding my profession, which means I try to look at as few design magazines as possible. — Ettore Sottsass

If you think you're meeting your destiny on the other side of a door you may not be interested in its design. — Ettore Sottsass

When I began designing machines I also began to think that these objects, which sit next to each other and around people, can influence not only physical conditions but also emotions. They can touch the nerves, the blood, the muscles, the eyes and the moods of people. — Ettore Sottsass

There is no doubt something will be done sooner or later to enable us to put on a house every day, just as we put on clothes or choose a book to read or a theater to go to, like choosing a day to be lived, within the limits grated by other destinies or chances. — Ettore Sottsass

It is important to realize that whatever we do or design has iconographic references, it comes from somewhere; any form is always metaphorical, never totally metaphysical; it is never a 'destiny' but always a fact with some kind of historical reference. To put an object on a base means to monumentalize it, to make everyone aware it exists. — Ettore Sottsass