A.Mano, a new shop for ceramic enthusiasts

In New York’s vibrant Brooklyn neighbourhood there’s a new community spot just waiting to be discovered. Called A.Mano, it is a home décor shop with an Italian name that reflects the artisanal nature of the products on sale. “It is a place where you can buy ceramic items made by talented artists,” says Sergio Mannino, a Palermo-born architect who moved to New York over 20 years ago and was responsible for the interior design and branding project, winner of the Commercial Honorable Mention in the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition 2022.
“My client Katherine Wells runs a ceramics stdio called Bklyn Clay, of which I am also a member, where artists can work with clay and attend classes,” continues Mannino. “Located next door to Bklyn Clay, A.Mano represents and sells the artists’ ceramic works along with vintage furniture restored by Katherine Wells, while also hosting meetings and lectures.”
A.Mano was created as a renovation of an existing building, “a bright, 167 square metre, all-glass construction overlooking the street. Due to the difficulties posed by the presence of columns, we decided to divide the interior into three distinct areas: a main gallery that would house the retail display, a coffee area with the counter and a multi-purpose back gallery where the owner would sell upcycled furniture and organise events.”
It is a multifunctional space that embraces a variety of aesthetics from bold Memphis-style colours to American minimalism. “I studied at the University of Florence with the people who wrote the history of radical design, such as Remo Buti and Gianni Pettena. Then I moved to Milan and did my thesis with Ettore Sottsass, so I always love to experiment with colours.” In 1980s America, people used to paint houses beige to sell them more easily, “as though decoration were a sin! But I’m from Palermo, a passionate, Mediterranean city, and that comes through in my projects.”
In this project, Mannino’s love of colours and contrasting materials is clearly evident in the choice of details, “from the terracotta coloured plastic laminate bar counter to the clay bricks in shades of blue and white, assembled without the use of glues, as well as nailed panels that can be easily disassembled and reused.”
The highlight is the terrazzo-effect ceramic floor tile from Florim’s Artwork collection. “I chose ceramic products first and foremost because A.Mano is a ceramics shop,” he says. “I love this material because of the freedom it gives you to experiment, to add decoration and create powerful patterns. In particular, Florim’s Artwork collection in a 60×60 cm size allowed us to create a highly realistic terrazzo-effect floor that is cheaper and easier to maintain than natural stone. We also used terrazzo as a pattern for the window graphics as well as for the brochures and business cards as part of a coordinated branding project.”