“My passion for colours was born with me; I always remember myself involved and attracted by them. One of my earliest memories is that as a child, playing with two sheets of coloured paper. One was light blue and one orange – two contrasting yet complementary colours,” recalled Lenti.
Even after so many years, Lenti still sees herself as that little girl playing with coloured sheets. “Along the years, I created a real ‘library of colours’,” she quipped. Her parents cultivated her creative side. “My parents were both entrepreneurs. Even though they were not artistic in the strict sense, they were naturally attracted by beauty and educated me about it. For both, it was an important value. I remember my father taking me along when he went to paint as a hobby in the countryside. That made me appreciate the beauty and colours of nature.”
Lenti started her company not long after graduation. She had studied graphic design at the Scuola Politecnica di Milano under design masters such as Bruno Munari, Pierangela Garau and Walter Ballmer. The following years saw her designing stage sets for fashion brands and dabbling in creative projects including handweaving carpets, which is a personal preoccupation.
“I found myself doing only what others wanted. I reacted to this situation by inventing a job that I managed alone for several years, and to which I approached with a completely personal view, shifting the focus from individual products to a more global vision of what decorating, and giving character to a room or garden means. Sure, I had many difficulties because I was young, inexperienced and lacked the support of a consolidated structure but I had my own ideas and did not want to compromise,” said Lenti on the same doggedness that led to the invention of Rope.