It all started in a small laboratory in the historical centre of the Italian town of Piacenza during the late 1980’s. Davide Groppi was inventing and producing his first lamps and decided simply to use his own name for the name of the company. Creative independence and passionate, unconventional management have allowed him, over time, to develop his own brand of original and unique products, currently distributed the world over. Simplicity, weightlessness, emotion, creative invention and amazement are the fundamental ingredients of each lamp or lighting project designed by Davide Groppi.
His creations come about through the need to give life to something that is necessary or significant. The things that inspire these ideas are works of art, ready made objects, magic, the desire to make things with his hands or simply the urge to play and have fun with light.
Light, for Davide Groppi, is a wonderful way to seduce and excite. He has always worked with a faithful group of collaborators, who share his vision and help him develop ideas and bring them to fruition.
Over the course of many years, Davide Groppi has developed products, projects and shows in collaboration with companies specialising in design. There have also been many international projects the world over, including the illumination of houses, stores, museums, restaurants. Davide Groppi has been particularly active in the area of hospitality. Some of the most famous chefs have chosen lighting solutions by Davide Groppi for their venues, including Albert Adrià, Massimo Bottura, Massimiliano Alajmo, Moreno Cedroni, Carlo Cracco, Gennaro Esposito, Giancarlo Perbellini, Ciccio Sultano and others.
Davide Groppi has been recognised for excellence by the press and received prestigious awards, including the Edida Award, in 2011, for SAMPEI lamp and, in 2024, for VIS À VIS lamp; the Design Plus Award, in 2014, for NEURO lamp; the double 23rd Compasso d’Oro ADI Award for NULLA and SAMPEI lamps; the 28th Compasso d'Oro ADI Award for the ANIMA lamp; the 24th Mention of Honour Compasso d’Oro ADI for TeTaTeT rechargeable battery lamp and the 28th Mention of Honour Compasso d'Oro ADI for FM lamp. The ADI Compasso d’Oro Award is considered the oldest and most prestigious recognition for design in the world. As part of the “Quirinale Contemporaneo” project, inaugurated in 2019, Sampei and Origine floor lamps light up the Quirinal Palace, in particular the “Studio alla Vetrata” and the “Prima Sala di Rappresentanza” respectively. Origine also enriches the interiors of the Italian Embassy to the Holy See for the initiative “Contemporanei a Palazzo Borromeo”.
The company has been a part of Dexelance s.p.a. group since 2018, with the aim of strengthening its already important presence in international markets. In 2019, Davide Groppi became member of Altagamma Foundation, the creative and cultural ecosystem that is the most important accelerator of Made in Italy products.
