Insights, News
28th August 2026
Some business relationships begin as commercial opportunities, while others evolve into something far more meaningful: a shared journey built on trust, common values and a united vision. The partnership between Frezza and Matt Calver undoubtedly belongs to the latter.
Matt first connected with the company in the early 2000s, laying the foundations for a collaboration that would eventually see him become Frezza’s exclusive partner in the United Kingdom. Through Frezza UK, he played a key role in strengthening the brand’s presence across the market, developing a network of dealers, managing direct client relationships and opening a showroom dedicated entirely to Frezza collections. Over the years, the space became a recognised destination for architects, designers and industry professionals.
Even after the showroom closed in 2015 in anticipation of Brexit, Matt’s relationship with the company remained as strong as ever. On the contrary, he continued to follow Frezza’s evolution closely, taking part in some of the most significant milestones of its international growth and contributing to the delivery of prestigious projects, including the NET-A-PORTER headquarters, as well as major developments around the world and numerous high-profile installations throughout the United Kingdom.
In this interview, we look back on more than two decades of collaboration, exploring the values that have made this partnership so enduring, the transformation of the design industry and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the years to come.
Interview with Matt Calver
Every long-standing partnership has a story shaped by vision, challenges and shared ambitions. In this interview, Matt Calver reflects on his journey alongside Frezza, offering a unique perspective on the company’s evolution and the changing dynamics of the international design market.
The origins of a partnership built to last
Every professional relationship begins with a meeting, but only a few develop into lasting partnerships. For Matt Calver, the connection with Frezza was founded from the outset on a strong alignment of values.
1. How did your collaboration with Frezza begin, and what has sustained this relationship over time?
Matt Calver: I had already been working in the furniture industry in London for eight years when I first visited Frezza in 2005, and from that first encounter I felt a profound connection between Frezza’s identity and my own vision for the UK market.
It was not simply the quality of the products that inspired me – it was the philosophy behind the company, its heritage, its craftsmanship, and, most importantly, its people. Within a year, I founded Frezza UK, opening our first showroom at The Truman Brewery in London.
I believe that the collaborations that endure are built on much more than commercial foundations. They are sustained by the intangible qualities that shape meaningful relationships: openness, mutual respect, trust, and a shared belief in what can be achieved together. Frezza has always felt like a family to me, and I was welcomed into that family from the very beginning.
A project reflecting a shared vision
Projects often tell the story of how a partnership evolves. Some, more than others, capture the ability to tackle complex challenges through close collaboration and a shared commitment among everyone involved.
2. Is there a project you developed with Frezza that you feel best reflects your shared journey?
Matt Calver: We have had the privilege of collaborating on many remarkable projects with exceptional clients and designers, including British Council, Royal Academy of Arts, Associated Press, Foxtons and Farfetch, to name but a few. However, the project that immediately comes to mind is Net-a-Porter.
It remains memorable for many reasons, above all because it represented a truly collaborative design journey between client, architect, designer, and manufacturer. Together, we developed a bespoke interpretation of the Link system to respond to the unique requirements of the brief, creating a workplace that was both highly functional and visionary.
The resulting headquarters was ahead of its time: a flexible, hybrid environment that brought together workplace, retail, event, and photographic spaces within a vast aircraft-hangar-like setting in West London. The dramatic scale of the architecture was complemented by intricate detailing, soaring ceilings and Murano chandeliers – a dialogue between industrial character and refined craftsmanship.
The project ultimately extended beyond London, with us furnishing workplaces for around 2,000 people across Net-a-Porter’s offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. For me, it remains an example of what can be achieved when vision, creativity, and collaboration come together.
Frezza’s evolution: balancing identity and innovation
Over the past twenty years, the world of design has undergone profound changes, bringing new expectations and new approaches to the use of space. Throughout this transformation, companies have had to evolve while remaining true to their core identity.
3. How have you seen Frezza evolve over the years, both in terms of its product offering and its market approach?
Matt Calver: Over the years, I have seen Frezza evolve significantly while maintaining a strong sense of identity. It has remained true to its Italian heritage – defined by quality, craftsmanship, and design excellence – while continually adapting to the changing needs of the workplace.
The product offering has grown from a focus on high-quality office furniture systems into a much broader design language, encompassing more diverse workplace environments, from collaborative spaces and informal settings to executive areas and hospitality-inspired interiors. Frezza has always understood that the modern workplace is not simply about providing furniture; it is about creating environments that support connection, creativity, wellbeing, and different ways of working.
From a market perspective, Frezza has become increasingly international and design-led, with an emphasis on understanding local contexts while maintaining a consistent global vision. It has embraced innovation while preserving its commitment to design, flexibility, and a close relationship with architects, designers, and clients.
Frezza has evolved without losing its character – it continues to combine the heritage of an Italian manufacturer with the awareness and flexibility needed to remain relevant in a constantly changing world.
The challenges that will shape the future of design
Technological, environmental and social transformations are reshaping the way spaces are conceived and experienced. Understanding these changes also means anticipating the role that design will play in the years ahead.
4. Looking ahead, what key themes do you believe will shape the future of the furniture and design industry?
Matt Calver: We are living through a period of extraordinary and accelerating transformation, driven in large part by artificial intelligence. For our industry, I believe the challenge is threefold: to place sustainability and our relationship with nature at the forefront of our thinking, to harness technology in ways that meaningfully benefit people and the planet, and to ensure that human experience remains firmly at the centre of what we design.
We must create ethical interiors and products that inspire as well as serve, and as we focus on innovation and on developing a more environmentally conscious approach to design and manufacturing, we must also remain attentive to human stories – the relationships, contexts, and experiences that give our work depth and resonance. Increasingly, what we make should reflect not only a company’s DNA, but also the hand of the artisan behind it, reinforcing human connection and wellbeing.
It is through this interconnectedness that design becomes not just relevant, but personal. And ultimately, it is this sense of humanity that should sit at the heart of everything we create.
Frezza’s role on the international market
In an increasingly competitive global market, standing out depends not only on the quality of a product, but also on the way relationships are built and nurtured throughout the design process.
5. In your view, what is the primary added value that Frezza brings to the international market?
Matt Calver: In my view, Frezza’s primary added value in the international market lies in its ability to combine design intelligence with manufacturing authenticity. It brings together a distinctly Italian sensitivity to detail with a pragmatic understanding of how contemporary workplaces actually function.
What distinguishes Frezza is not only the quality of its products, but the coherence of its design approach, creating systems that feel both highly resolved and inherently flexible, capable of adapting to different architectural contexts and evolving ways of working.
Equally important is Frezza’s role as a design partner, collaborating closely with architects, designers, and clients. This dialogue is where real value is created, because it allows ideas to be translated into environments that are both functional and emotionally considered.
Ultimately, I think Frezza’s strength lies in this balance – between craft and industry, between structure and adaptability, and between Italian heritage and an international design language that continues to evolve.
The value of a partnership built over time
Matt Calver’s experience demonstrates how a professional collaboration can grow into a long-term partnership founded on trust, shared values and a common ambition to evolve together. It’s a journey that continues to this day, reflecting Frezza’s ability to embrace change while staying true to its identity: a design partner capable of interpreting the evolving needs of the contemporary workplace through manufacturing excellence and a forward-looking vision.
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