Contardi stopped by today primarily to show us their contract catalog - great for lower-budget but still high-design projects (condos, hotels, etc). Contardi is an Italian company well known for their use of materials and craftsmanship. They keep a breadth of stock of their normal products in DUMBO, but can sometimes drop-ship from Italy in 2 weeks. Almost everything is made in house, which also makes producing samples very quick. Interestingly, only about 30-40% of their products are LED. There used to be more, but they are finding a shift back towards incandescent sockets.
The contractor catalog was impressive. They take their main catalog and will use the design concept but change the material. If a fixture was marble, the contractor fixture may be resin. Certain joints may be made more simple. But the overall feel of the fixture keeps the Contardi look. They can create contractor grade fixtures from most of their catalog, as well as develop custom fixtures with relative ease.