La Marzocco Out of the Box Milan, Oct. 17-19.

A few days ago, we announced the names of some pretty heavy hitters scheduled to speak at the La Marzocco Out of the Box event being held October 18 “19 in Milan ”among them Piero Bambi himself!

Today I got word of some other superstars scheduled to appear at this landmark event, which will for the first time in history bring together design, espresso machines, technology, fine art, music, and imagination at what is sure to be the biggest and best La Marzocco Out of the Box event to date.

As details about this landmark forum are released, from speakers to guest stars to roasters to musicians and artists involved, I’ll be announcing them here on Barista Magazine’s blog. So stay tuned!

Say, whaaa? Francesco Illy's going to be speaking at La Marzocco Out of the Box??? That's right, we said ILLY! — Say, whaaa? Francesco Illy’s going to be speaking at La Marzocco Out of the Box??? That’s right, we said ILLY!

Francesco Illy, first son of the third generation of the Trieste dynasty dedicated to quality coffee, is responsible for marketing illycaffÃ¨ SpA products in Switzerland with an independent brand name, Amici CaffÃ¨. He has also expanded business to the wine industry as owner of the Podere Le Ripi vineyards and is president of the family’s Mastrojanni vineyard. He is vice president of Gruppo Illy SpA and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ernesto Illy Foundation, which is dedicated to cultivating and developing knowledge, ethics and sustainability as absolute values, as well as research as a method to obtaining truth and progress,according to the teachings of Ernesto Illy. He conceived the illy collection cups in collaboration with Matteo Thun and a variety of other contemporary artists, developed the current illy logo together with James Rosenquist and, with Luca Trazzi, designed the FrancisFrancis! espresso machines for the home, including the X1, which has been defined œretro-futuristic by Wired and has become an icon of design for espresso in the home.

This is Paul, who will talk about espresso machines colliding with industrial design: everything you know and appreciate about coffee culture is going to be turned on its head at La Marzocco Out of the Box in Milan in October. — This is Paul Schilperood, who will talk about espresso machines colliding with industrial design: everything you know and appreciate about coffee culture is going to be turned on its head at La Marzocco Out of the Box in Milan in October.

Paul Schilperoord is an industrial designer and internationally published author, specialized in innovative design & technology. He was born in the Netherlands where he studied Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Product Design, followed by a Masters Degree in Industrial Design in Florence, Italy. His style combines his interests in design history and modern day technology & innovation. His publications in these fields include Future Tech “ Innovations in Transportation (2006) and The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz “ The Jewish Engineer Behind Hitler’s Volkswagen (2012).