Marquis Carlo Andrea Ginori founded Richard Ginori, Italy's oldest and most celebrated porcelain manufacturer, in 1735. Porcelain art had just started to grow in popularity across Europe, and the aristocratic Florentine decided to get in on the craft by building a factory in Tuscany in 1747, eventually merging with industrial ceramist Richard Augustus Milan's business. In the 1930s, the architect Gio Ponti joined the company as artistic director and cemented Ginori's place in design history by commissioning legendary Italian talents Achille Castiglioni, Angelo Mangiarotti, and Enzo Mari to create pieces for the collection. Although tastes have changed since then, Richard Ginori’s tradition of experimentation has not. In 2009 alone, the company debuted its collaboration with the fashion label Missoni, creating tabletop goods with the latter’s trademark colorful stripes, swirls, and stylized flowers.