news archives 2000 - 2009
December 22nd,
2009
December 11th,
2009
Benefactors who make a donation, with a minimum of 100 euro, to the The Ernesto Illy Foundation
will receive a limited-edition set of Ernesto Illy espresso cups.
As you can see, with a look from above, the cups referre to the older logo that was used by illy.
The "FONDAZIONE ERNESTO ILLY" set comes in a giftbox with a little brochure. The set is a unique piece of art with one numbered single "double" saucer, characterized by an original and innovative design.
The two espresso cups embody the idea and the thought of Ernesto Illy "It is a message that says: coffee prompts social
activity, stimulates friendships and conversations, and it should never be enjoyed alone. You should always share it with
someone".
You can express your support by donating to three current projects:
- Research, preservation and development project of the native coffee plant in Ethiopia;
- Pilot project in Colombia, dedicated to adverse communities, to introduce beekeeping and honey production in coffee plantations, as a new source of income and environmental sustainability;
- Scholarships for the Masters degree in Coffee Economics and Science, that will give qualified students coming from coffee producing countries the opportunity to study in Italy, to improve their knowledge and to transfer this experience to their families and community of origin.
October 6th,
2009
A couple of months ago I'll promised you to keep you informed about the Pedro Almodóvar cups.
Well, in addition to the limited edition cup "Los Abrazos Rotos", illy released 6
more Illy art collection cups from the Spanish director.
Both the cups and saucers are decorated and the design is inspired by six of Almodovar's films; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990),
High Heels (1991), The Flower of My Secret (1995), Bad Education (2004) and Volver (2006).
The individually decorated cups depict his signature themes of love, women (
including his favorite lead actress Penélope Cruz), desire, passion and family.
The cups come in a 2 and 6 pack espresso version, as well as a cappuuccino version and they are for sale through the several illy e-shops.
July 7th, 2009
As you might have noticed, three different espresso and cappuccino bar cups of Pedro Almodóvar show up on ebay the last couple of days.
Illy pronounced, when they released the "Los Abrazos Rotos" illy art collection cup, that there would be six more cups.
The cups would retrace the most recognized and successful steps of the director’s artistic career by portraying six emblematic scenes from his movies.
And yes there are six more cups, as you can see on the picture below.
But only three cups, with the inscription illy espresso Pedro Almodóvar were released and when you take a good look at the picture, you can see that the
cups are NOT signed and numbered. It seems that these are the bar cups (for professional use only).
On the other hand, the saucers on the picture are decorated too, and usually that's not the case with bar cups!?
We'll see. I'll keep you informed when I have more news.
June 10th
, 2009
For the first time since 2003 illy released a signed and numbered(art) collection cup for the Biennale in Venice.
Tobias Rehberger (Esslingen, Germany, 1966) designed this new single cup to mark the 53rd International Art Exhibition. Rehberger was chosen to design the
bar and restaurant inside the new exhibition building in the Biennale gardens and that's shows on the cup.
Rehberger has exhibited at the Biennale exhibitions of Venice and Berlin, Manifesta in Luxembourg, the Chicago Museum
of Contemporary Art and the Palais of Tokyo in Paris.
The cup will be on sale at the Biennale and the e-shops on the illy websites )for aprox €49,50. I don't know if there will another 4 espresso and 4 (simular) cappuccino bar cups set too, but we'll see.
May 8th, 2009
Vito Giudice from Italy mailed me the beautiful and very interesting pictures below.
The cups are designed by Massimo Giacon. They are prototypes and all the cups have the number 00000
(like the Native American Art" set by Eric MacPherson from 1996).
Massimo Giacon, born 1961 in Padova, has been working in Milan as a cartoonist, illustrator, designer, and musician.
Since the early eighties, he has been at the centre of an Italian cartoon renaissance, which has produced magazines
such as "Frigidaire", "Alter", "Dolce Vita", "Cyborg" and "Nova Express".
In 1985 he started working with an architect's studio, Sottsass Associati, honing his design skills by working with
Matteo Thun, Studio Mendini, Sieger design, and for Memphis, Artemide, Alessi, Swatch, Philips and... Ritzenhoff
I asked Vito why the set did not make it into production, but he could not answer this. If you have any information, please let me know!
March 15th, 2009
Director Pedro Almodóvar designed the latest illy art collection cup!
This cup is a the 7th cup of a complete illy art collection set wich will be released in Autumn this year.
Theme of the cup is his new movie "Los Abrazos Rotos" (broken embraces) with Penélope Cruz.
The premiere of the movie will be on March 18th in Madrid.
The cups are only for sale (€49,50) on the illy web-site in several countries.
March 9th,
2009
A friend of mine in Germany surprised me with a cup that I did not know of. Just take a look
at the pictures below.
Only 100 cups with the inscription "25eme anniversaire illycaffe France 1999" were made and given to
invited guests (French business people from illy).
The cups are all hand painted by Selignac (Paris, France). They are numbered and come in a beautiful gift box as you can see.
January 16th 
2009
Every illy collector should have the new William Kentridge set by now.
I think it's one of the most beautiful sets ever made, but just wanted to let you know that the mirror concept is not new!
In 2000 Ross & Neil Aitken designed the 6 espresso cup St. Martins set for illy. Nothing new about that, but there is more . . .
. . . they also designed a second concept using a mirror glaze on the cup to reflect the seemingly abstract pattern on the
saucer into the illy logo.
Just take a look at the prototype below and I think that you will agree that Kentridge is not the first to use the
anamorphic patterns concept!
October 31st 
2008
Earlier this year I was able to buy an interesting prototype set of "illy collection"
espresso cups. On of the cups of this set you can see below.
As you can read on this site, Amici released the "Native American Art" set by
Eric MacPherson in 1996. This set is very wanted by collectors because it is one of
the Amici sets which were never released as an "illy collection" set.
So, how come that the inscription in the set I bought reads "illy collection"
in stead of "amici collection"? Was there supposed to be an illy set too?
After some research I found out something interesting. The picture that I show
on my website is not very clear, but somehow you can read the inscription
"illy collection" in one of the cups. I do not know where I found this picture,
but I am pretty sure that is was on the Amici site a long time ago.
But, when you go there now, you will find a different picture!
Different in the sense that the cups are the same, but somehow
the inscriptions inside the cups and on the bottom have been faded away!
Too many questions by collectors at the illy/amici address? Who knows...
October 14th 
2008
As part of the 75 year celebration and in collaboration with the Fondazione Bevilacqua
La Masa, illycaffè will celebrate one of the greatest contemporary artists,
the South African William Kentridge. Kentridge won the 2007 Illy Prize at Art Brussels and now designed the newest
illy Art Collection.
I can't tell you much about the cups yet, but the images on the saucers are reflected in
the silver colored cups. So the cups are used as a mirror.
It might be that Kentridge based the design on "The Return of Ulysses", an event
which was invented and directed by him. Or maybe they are linked to his new video
which will be screened in a world premiere on the firebreak at theatro La Fenice in Venice.
We will see, they will be soon available on the illy site for €140,-- (6 espresso cups) and
€150,-- (6 cappuccino cups).
September 14th
2008
Every now and you find something interesting that you never heard of. A little while ago I was able
to buy a cup that I had never seen before.
As you can read on this site, the Artistas do Brasil collection has been designed to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of the illy caffe Quality Award for Brazilian coffee growers.
The result was a six cups espresso set that was released in two editions.
A regular one, dated 2001 and a special edition dated 2000, that came in a tin box.
But, there is another version! On April 18th 2001, 1.000 single cups were given away to
visitors in the Albert Hall in Brussels Belgium.
There was nothing special about the cups (it is a random chosen cup out of a regular set),
but they came in a very special package!
As you can see, an inflatable air box is used to
hold the single cup and saucer. Even more interesting is the fact that it also contains
a certificate with an limited number (0879 in this case)! I'm afraid that many people just took
the cup and threw away the package and certificate. Good thing is that this
makes my find even more interesting :-)
July 13th
2008
This year, illycaffé celebrates its 75th anniversary (1933-2008). As you might have noticed, a logo cup
with 2 logo's (a new and an old one) was released on behalf of this occasion.
But, at the illy convention in Trieste on July 3rd, another cup was released. 1933 cups,
in a special celebration pack,
with the name "a wider horizon", were given to illy employees world wide.
So, the cup will not be for sale to the public and when you want one, you might try your luck on ebay.
The first cup showed up for.... €1.000,--. Concerning the fact that the cup was not
designed by an artist and
that it was released in a quantity of 1993 cups, I consider that price far out of range!
The Jan Fabre cup and the 60° birthday Abramovic mug are limited to 1000 pieces and that price settles around
€100-€150. I can understand that the illy employees try to get the best price, but I will not play
that game. I ask every collector to be patient and then I'm sure that prices will drop fast!
April 30th
2008
Flemish artist Jan Fabre has designed a single cup for the illy art collection,
which was produced in a limited edition of only 1000 copies!
He designed the cup on the occasion of his performance at the Louvre on April 22, 2008
This performance was part of his exhibition L'Ange de la Metamorphose" at the Louvre in Paris
(April 11 - July 7, 2008).
Fabre explores one his favourite themes, that of sacrifice, choosing the colours red and
black (for both the cup and saucer), which are essentially colours of passion,
of love, struggle and politically those of anarchy.
Printed in black are the words: ART KEPT ME OUT OF JAIL (on the cup) AND OUT OF MUSEUMS (
on the saucer).
The cup comes in a special package with the usual little brochure and should have been on
sale in the Louvre bookshop for the duration of the exhibition.
However, I went there today and bought the last couple of cups.
Standing in line for a long time, just to enter the entrance, was all worth it.
The exhibition is great and I was lucky to get some cups!
January 19th, 2008
Well, not much to tell lately! Illy did not release many cups in 2007 and the first news in 2008 is about
there 15th Anniversary illy art collection.
So you might think, that's BIG, but it is not! I was hoping that they would release a special cup
on behalf of this occasion, but the only idea they came up with was a special package and
brochure.
The package contains a single signed and numbered, limited edition cup
from .....and this is realy sad, a past illy Art Collection!!!
It's for sale on the USA illy internet-site for $30
I'm realy sorry, but for me that's not a celebration, but seems to be a cheap way to get rid of
a large amount of unsold cups!
June 14th, 2007
Like the 2003 and the 2005 editions, illy released 4 espresso and 4 (simular) cappuccino
bar cups for the Biennale di Venezia.
The theme of this 52nd edition is “pensa con i sensi senti con la mente l’arte al presente”
wich can be found on the decoration of the cups too.
The cups will not be released as an illy collection set (so not signed and numbered)
but they will be used in illy coffee bars, restaurants and hotels all over the world.
They will not be sold to the public, but at the moment they allready show up on ebay.
I also found an interesting article on the internet from september 29th last year.
It's an interview in the (Italian version of the) Economist
with Andrea Illy. Interesting to read, but even more interesting is the picture that
comes with the article…..just take a look at it! Any idea who decorated this cup?
March 21st 
, 2007
The newest illy Art Collection "Origami", designed by the young German sculptor
Michael Beutler, will be released in a couple of days. The design of the six cups and
saucers was inspired by the Japanese paper folding technique "origami".
Michael Beutler won the illy Present Future 2005 prize in collaboration with
Artissima, the international fair of contemporary art in Turin.
Beside $10.000 illy gave him the opportunity to make a design for there illy
Art collection cups. Beutler was born in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1976 and he
lives and works in Berlin.
The set will be available through shops en the illy web sites for 118 Euro in
two kind of packages. One gift box, containing 6 cups and saucers, and 3 gift
boxes containing 2 cups and saucers.
But, there is more! Vito Giudice from Italy sent me a picture of a very interesting
prototype. The inscription in the cup says "illy collection for Nobu".
Nobu is a famous Japanese famous chef which was sponsored by illy long ago.
Nobu wanted a special cappuccino cup in a rough black colour.
A couple of samples were made by Rosenthal but the project was stopped for some reason.
March 6th, 2007
In honor of her 60° birthday, Marina Abramovic has designed an illy Art Collection mug
that was released in a limited edition (1.000 pieces).
Her birthday was celebrated at the Guggenheim museum in New York.
All of the 300 guests received a mug at the end of the evening.
600 of the other cups will be for sale from today on for € 49,- through the 3 illy internet sites (300 USA,
200 Italy and 100 France)
March 2nd
, 2007
I will be adding new cups on the Trade and Sale page soon. To create some more space in the addict
I will give a discount on some older illy series.
If you're interested, please take a look at the 
page!
February 25th
, 2007
The picture left shows a little part of the illy box in wich
the "illy project management 2006" cup was sent to the illy employes. As you can see
it mentions "Kit Celestino". Rosanna Celestino is one of the team builders who
organized the illy project 2006 program for illy. The cup was
designed by Maurizio Cargnelli, but the cup is named after her.
Below you can see some more pictures of the cup.
The first picture shows the wooden brochure and the second picture shows
the cup ans saucer together with the wooden gift box.
February 14th
, 2007
On this Valentines day I would like to surprise all illy collector fans with a new cup that I found out about a couple of weeks ago.
A collector from Japan sent me a small picture and asked me about it. First I thought that
it would be fake, until I received a couple of mails and photos from other collectors.
I asked around and...here's the story....
The cups was given away to Italian illy employees (+/- 400) on a special occasion last year. The inscription
in the cup says "illy project management 2006". The cups are manufactured by IPA. It's NOT
numbered or signed, but it comes in a special designed wooden box and
a wooden brochure as well.
The cup was designed by Maurizio Cargnelli (Giotto Enterprise). Yes, that's the artist who designed one of the
cups in the 1992 Arti e mestieri set and who designed the cups for the Biennale di Venezia 2005.
I will soon show you more photos of it on the illy and amici collection site.
December 1st
, 2006
As you might have noticed, illy released a new coffee bar concept named "Espressamente illy".
At this moment there are over 120 Espressamente illy bars worldwide.
Each Espressamente illy bar is as unique as the city that surrounds it, but they all use the same espresso logo cups wich you
can see below.
November 11th, 2006
As you might have noticed, the Michael Lin illy collection espresso and cappuccino are for sale at the Italian illy web-site.
There will be two versions of packages. One version where all the 6 cups and saucers (yes, the bar cup version has only 4 cups and saucers!)
are packed in one special gift box and
a version which contains three boxes with two cups.
More interesting is the fact that the cups do not say "illy collection" anymore, but illy changed it into
"illy Art Collection" wich can be seen on the inside of the cups and on the bottom of the saucers
and the cups. The cups are all the same but the saucers are
decorated different as you can see on the picture below. The cups are
only signed and the saucers are both signed and numbered.
October 8th, 2006
I received some more information about the Michael Lin illy collection set that will be available in November.
The signed and numbered illy collection set will both be available in an espresso and a
cappuccino version. The cups are totally pink with no handles. The flower patterns, wich you can see on
the bar cups, will decorate the white saucer for this new illy collection version.
The other news is that there will be another Sebastiao Salgado
cup released at the Galleria illy (hosted by Moroso in Milan) later on this year. This will be the 4th "In Principio" cup and this time
Guatemala will be highlighted by the Brazilian photographer. I hope I can show you some pictures soon!
July 14th anteprima , 2006
I found out a little bit more about the Michael Lin set that I told you about a couple of days ago.
The cups that I showed you are bar cups, so they are not signed and numbered. Normally those bar cups have the
inscription illy espresso on the inside. However, the Michael Lin cups have the inscription
anteprima illy
Michael Lin
The reason for this is a complete new concept by illy. First they will release the bar cups (anteprima illy) and
after a while they will release another set by the same artist as an illy collection
(signed and numbered) set.
This means that there will be another Michael Lin set later on this year. I've been told that the
decoration of these cups is a little different and that the saucers are decorated too!
When there is more to tell, I will let you know!
July 12th
, 2006
It is supposed to be a secret, but the next artist that
decorated an illy set is from Japan! I heard the name Michael Lin twice now and found
a picture on the internet, so I thought that it might be time to share the information
with you.
Lin was born in Tokyo in 1964 and when you google with his name and illy, you will find a couple of connections. When there is more news
and when I have some better pictures, I will let you know!
April 16th
, 2006
The International Fair of Contemporary Art 
took
place from 5th to 7th November 2004 at the Lingotto Trade Fair Centre in Turin.
Illy sponsored this art fair, but did you know that they released a cup on behalf of that occasion? I did not, until I was able
to buy the cup below!
The package was special designed for this occasion, but the cup is just plain white, like a
logo cup. It is made by IPA, but says nothing else.
I did not hear anything about this release before and I'm not even sure if it was officialy released
at all. If you can tell me more about this cup and package, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
March 26th, 2006
From tomorrow on the new illy collection "l'ora blu" set will be for sale on the Italian illy web-site.
As I wrote on January 26th, it was decorated by the Belgium artist Jan Fabre. As one of
of the few modern representatives of renaissance art, Fabre had the
honor to be the first Belgium artist to decorate an illy set.
Thanks to his grandfather, French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, he got interested in the "blue hour",
the magical moment between the hours of daylight and darkness, the moment on which
nocturnal animals are asleep already and day animals are not yet awake.
It is the transitional period in which the night makes place for the day,
in which the energy of darkness and the moment of light meet. The black of darkness has
not yet surrendered itself to light of the day.
The six decorated cups are blue, the color of energy which is prominent present
at transfiguration which living undergoes when it changes of situation.
From sleeping to awakening. The continuing bitrh of new life.
Beside the news on the new Fabre set, I can tell you a little bit more on the 1994 International Convention
Ginger & Fred cup.
Thanks to Italian collector Vito Giudice I can show you that it really exists. The scan above shows
the bottom of the cup.
The 1994 international convention cup was released to celebrate a meeting arranged
by Illy Italy in 1994. Only 200 very important guests, like Italian and international
suppliers of coffee in the world, were invited.
This "s" on the bottom of the cup means that it is a special Tutto Fellini edition.
February 26th
, 2006
During Art Rotterdam 2006 the "illy price" was awarded to Louis Cordier (Belgium, 1978).
The work of Cordier can be interpreted in multiple ways. It is is a mixture of architecture,
nature, art, technique and science. His modules and installations are strongly linked
to nature. Each module is a place to live in, to survive in while being protected from
the outside world and the elements. The modules can be transported to another place,
just like in nature some animals carry their house.
The price is an amount of 10.000 Euro and….. the possibility to decorate an illy
collection cup?
February 14th, 2006
Today I renewed the complete logo cup section. I've added new pictures and information.
Just push the 
button and take a look....
January 26th
, 2006
On the Ukrain illy site you can find the picture below of the
newest illy collection set made by Jan Fabre.
Jan Fabre (born 1958 in Belgium) draws, sculpts, writes plays, directs on stage,
choreographs and designs. He studied at the Municipal Institute of Decorative Arts and
the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. When I have more information about the set I will let you know.
January 1st
, 2006
As I announced on November 13th there would be some specials coming up about prototypes,
bar and advertising cups. I decided to put all the information together and tell
everything in the "about illy and amici" section. Here you can find all the information, and
(updated) news concerning the difference between illy and amici and more!
Very interesting is the story behind the ES94-99 Ettora Sottsas cups.
I was able to obtain a set a couple of months ago and for those who are interested
in buying one you can send an email to wwildena@tirnet.de
I hope that you like the reconstruction of the site. Please let me know what
you think of it and how it can be improved with more pictures and news.
november 13th
, 2005
November 2000 the Illy & Amici collection site
could be seen on the world wide web for the first time! Since then, the site has been
visited more then 27.000 times!.
Time for the 5th year celebration and...
time for some changes!
The layout of the site will be the same for most pages, but I've changed the 
page.
All the cups that that were released through the years can be found there. That includes
the cups wich are NOT official mentioned by illy or amici!
I've also added more news about the cups and added pictures of the brochures that
come with most illy collections sets.
I did not finish the reconstruction yet. In the next months
I will complete the site and add some SPECIALS about prototypes,
bar and advertising cups.
For the moment, please enjoy the new
Illy & Amici
collection site and please let me know what you think of it!
october 23th 
, 2005
As I mentioned in the beginning of this month, there will be another " In Principio" Salgado
cup released soon. At the 2005 (Turin, Lingotto Fiere, November 11-13)
there will be a preview of the “In Principio – Etiopia 2004” (‘In the beginning - Ethiopia 2004’) project.
And I'll bet that the cup shown below can be seen over there!
october 4th
, 2005
From today on, the four cups Pistoletto Foundation espresso set can be bought on the USA
illy site for $110. A two cups cappuccino set is $80.
october 2nd 
, 2005
There will be a couple of new releases this month. I'm proud to show you a picture of the new
Pistoletto Foundation 4 espresso cup set.
Four young artists convey a compelling
message about how we interact with each other and our environment in this beautiful
and socially relevant limited edition illy collection. Each signed and numbered cup
bears the intriguing design of a student at Michelangelo Pistoletto's University of Ideas,
selected through a collaboration between the Pistoletto Foundation and illy to promote
social responsibility through art.
Beside that there will be a set designed by Julian Schnabel.
Schnabel's series of seven porcelain cups and saucers for illy features his longtime
inspiration, the surfer-themed character named Chuck. There are five espresso cups,
each labeled a different weekday, and each sporting Chuck wearing a new expression.
The "Saturday" and "Sunday" cups are full-size mugs, again featuring Chuck, perhaps
suggesting more time to relax and enjoy one's favorite coffee. Keeping with the surf
theme, the cups come packaged in a Schnabel-designed life preserver.
The complete collection will be available at www.illyusa.com, after a formal
introduction at a birthday celebration for Schnabel at Galleria illy on October 26th.
Galleria illy, open at 382 West Broadway in New York City from September 15 through
December 15, will be where discerning Americans discover and experience the
world's finest coffee, and illy's passions for art and culture.
I hope to show you some pictures soon, but more information is available at www.illyusa.com/galleria.
But there is more, as you might have guest there will be another Salgaodo cup (Ethiopia) at the end of the year
and there are rumors about a new Abramovic cup at Halloween!
july 1st, 2005
illy is the main partner for the 
.
To promote this, 320.000 espresso and cappuccino bar cups, decorated with the
image of the front cover of the Biennale catalogue (a map of Venice indicating the exact position of the Arsenale
and the Gardens) have been released.
The cups will not be released as an illy collection set (so not signed and numbered)
but they will be used in illy coffee bars, restaurants and hotels all over the world. So, they
will not be sold to the public.
A little while ago illy released a new concept . To promote "illy freddo"
(cold espresso) a special, with silver decorated glasses set, has been designed by Matteo Thun.
This illy collection Serse set has been released as a numbered limited edition,
with a certificate of guarantee. The kit contents 2 glasses, 125 gr. of macinato coffee
and a brochure with the prescription of the cold illy espresso.
march 9th, 2005
Tomorrow the van Lieshout set will make its' appearance at the
in New York!!
The Tanya Bonakdar Gallery will show some of van Lieshouts work.
Beside that the Italian site mentioned that the set will be available form March 14th on the illy e-shop!
march 1st, 2005
illy did not yet release any pictures of the new
Atelier van Lieshout cups on their site. Just to give you an impression I've added
the picture below. You can see one of the cups enlarged and the two different packages
(for the special edition with the vassoio and for the regular set).
february 23rd 
, 2005
Tonight was the opening of Art Rotterdam 2005 with the official
presentation of the new illy collection set designed by Atelier van Lieshout (Joep van Lieshout).
The minister of state Medy C. van der Laan opened the Art Rotterdam 2005
Two Van Lieshout sets were released (an regular one and a special edition, including an espresso tray).
The names of the cups are "Digestion; Nervous System; Circulation and Urinal Tracks".
Joep explained that the systems are not entirely correct. When you take a good look at the cups you might be able
to discover some small deviations.
Some pictures of the cups will be on-line soon but for now
I just want to show you the special moment when Joep signed a special set for me!
Beside that we were able to talk a little bit more about Joep's art and the new set in special.
At last, but not for least a word to a good friend. Willem Scholten, many thanks for making this happen!
february 18th, 2005
Today the local newspaper "Rotterdams Dagblad" presented an interview with
Joep van Lieshout about the release of a new illy collection set by this famous
Dutch artist from Rotterdam.
The article says: A cup of coffee with Joep ....
For the first time
a Dutch artist is asked to make a design for illy. Atelier Van Lieshout is located in
one of the docklands of the harbour of Rotterdam. He is well known for his abstract figures of human beings
There are no pictures of the new cups, but Joep van Lieshout speaks openly about the
new set of 4 cups. The names are "Digestion; Nervous System; Blood Streams and Urinary System"
As he says: "it's Jugendstil and Art Nouveau like".
The cups will be presented at the Art Rotterdam festival (24-28 february).
On that occasion the cups will be presented in a special package with a limited
amount of sets.
I will be at the opening ceremony on february 23rd and I hope to show you some pictures after that.
january 1st
, 2005
We will start 2005 with a big surprise, because we have been able to find a special edition
of the Aliens cups by David Byrne. The scan below shows the bottom of one of the cups. The
difference with the "normal" set is that all the cups and the sugar bowl have the number.
Beside that you can see the inscription "ARTIST'S PROOF". 250 of these special sets were made
for David Byrne himself!
I bought two sets. One for my private collection and one for ... Well, if you want to make me an offer, please feel free
to 
Email me!
Beside that, I've added many more new sets on the trade & sale page!
 |
december 25th, 2004
To celebrate X-mas, the Illy & Amici collection site has some new offers!
There will be a 15% discount until new years day on the next cups that you can find on the trade & sale page:
Arte e Mestieri 1992
Arte e Mestieri 1993
Silver cup
Ginger & Fred
november 25th
, 2004
On this typical American holiday, I changed the currency on the trade & sale page from
US $ to Euro's. But, you might want to take a look because many prices have gone down too!
On X-mas there will be another special!
october 31st, 2004
Halloween 2004 will be the first date that the Illy & Amici collection site will have
some special offers for the holiday season! Until Thanksgiving 2004, shipping will be free for any
purchase over $500 that you buy on the trade & sale page!
october 25th
, 2004
For those who visited the In Principio exhibition in Paris and who were a little
disappointed that there were no cups for sale:
from today (october 25th) on you can buy this 2nd Sebastião Salgado illy collection
2004 cup on the Italian illy web site for 19.50 Euro!
And... the good news is that there might be two more cups in the In Principio series.
Beside Brasil and India there will probably be a photo exhibition about Ethiopia and Guatemala in 2005 and 2006.
october 19th
, 2004
A big surprise from illy USA...
Through their web site you can order a new illy collection set.
In 2001, the American conceptual artist Jeff Koons designed an illy collection espresso set. Now
he designed two illy collection mugs.
With this whimsical coffee mug collection, featuring colorful images of blow-up animals,
he designs between the lines of art and pop culture. This new set is an intriguing example of his ability to transform the
everyday into art with originality and humor.
This signed and numbered limited edition set of two mugs comes in a gift-box with a can of illy for auto
drip coffee makers and a brochure. The price is US$50.
october 17th , 2004
As I reported on may 26th, the Rufus Willis (an English architect) illy collection cup set has been selected by the jury as the
winner of the 2003 UNIDEE competition. This is the fourth project resulting from illy's collaboration with the
Pistoletto Foundation in Biella. Using art as a means to create awareness regarding
social themes is one of the Foundation research areas.
Previously this subject was addressed in the illy collections
"No water no coffee" which posed the urgent question of the world water shortage and
"Love Difference" which focused on the cultural diversity of Mediterranean
countries in terms of a common heritage to be treasured.
On november 8th the new Rufus Willis set will be released on the
Italian illy web site.
The set contains four cups and there will be both an espresso and a cappuccino version.
october 11th, 2004
Conceived by illy, on 19th October 2004 at the Chapelle de l'Humanité in Paris, the headquarters
of the Franco-Brazilian Cultural Centre, the worldwide preview of the exhibition
"In Principio" by Sebastião Salgado will be inaugurated.
The exhibition will be open until november 14th and this year it is dedicated to
recounting the lives and the history of the coffee-growers in India.
"In Principio" (In the Beginning) is the result of a meeting between
Sebastião Salgado and illy. It recounts the life of coffee-growers by means of
traveling exhibitions in the principal capitals of the world.
Year after year Salgado visits and photographs the different coffee-producing countries where
illy gets its raw materials from.
The first leg (2003-2004) of this photographic journey involved Brazil, where Salgado himself
comes from.
The second leg of the journey is dedicated to India and in occasion of this
second exhibition he designed another single illy collectioncup that you can see below.
may 26th , 2004
Established by Michelangelo Pistoletto, UNIDEE
is a laboratory where different artistic forms like music, visual art, theatre,
literature, dance, photography, design and fashion integrate with humanities,
scientific and social disciplines like sociology, economics, philosophy and politics.
Selected artists have the opportunity of introducing their creative work in the
interactive and social context of Cittadellarte, a remarkable architectural example
of industrial archaeology.
The resident artists live and work in the buildings attending courses, workshops,
public meetings and exhibitions, sharing the experience of living within a
collective community.
And guess what...
As you know, every year illy produces several series of illy collection cups in
collaboration with some well known artists, but also with some emerging ones.
In 2003, for the fourth time, the company has invited the UNIDEE residents at
Cittadellarte to present their designs The aim is to vehicle a socially
meaningful message by means of a design product .
The Rufus Willis (an English architect) cup set has been selected by the jury as the
winner of the 2003 competition (NB: No Water, No Coffee by Maria Joao Calisto
won in 2001) and illy will put it in production in 2004 ?? !!
The quintessentially tasteful tea cup with its idyllic pastoral landscape (look at the print below)
is reinterpreted for the modern coffee lover.
On five of the cups, the fiction of the rural dream is superimposed by a
contemporary urban theme: Slums - Refugees - Pollution - Congestion - Urban Sprawl.
Each theme is described by a fact printed on the inside of the cup.
In contrast, the sixth cup shows the original idealistic image, with the title of
the series inside.
If you are interested in the other designs, just go to the UNIDEE site (2003 residence).
may 25th 
, 2004
You may have seen some pictures of the new 2004 illy collection Kounellis set on the internet already.
Well, I can show you the set too and I can also tell you something about it. The set will be limited to 7.000 pieces and from July it will be available
in Greece and through the internet only.
So when you visit the 2004 Olympics in 
it might be a good idea to buy one of these very special sets.
YASOU!
march 23rd, 2004
Please look below to see a picture of the sets that I was talking about before.
The "bianco e verde" and the "bianco e blu" sets were designed by the French artist
Daniel Buren
Both sets will be released on April 1st and they are for sale for EUR 59.90 on the Italian Illy Web-site .
<
The Love Difference cup was 
in a couple of days in the US.
The good new is that is will be for sale from
March 26th for EUR 50.00 on the
Italian Illy Web-site
and from late April for $65.00 again
on the
Illy-USA Web-site
february 24th, 2004
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the rumors of a new single cup. Now you can read all about it
on the cup collectors preview section of the Illy-USA web-site.
The name of the next illy collection is "Love Difference" It is supposed to be released in the USA in March. As I wrote before,
it is a single cup created by Michelangelo Pistoletto.
february 22nd, 2004
It has been a while since there has been news about a new illy collection set.
Well, officially there is nothing to tell, but there are some rumors going on about a
new set and a special single cup. So, please don't take the next information for granted, but who knows ……..
It seems that Daniel Burne (a France artist) is asked to design the next regular 2004
illy collection set. Or should I say next sets, because there are supposed to be two!
One with two blue and two white cups and a set with two light green
and two white cups. There is also supposed to be something special going on with
the saucers. Maybe it has something to do with the shape ...
Another rumor is the fact that there is another special single cup designed by
Pistoletto that will only be for sale in the USA.
But, that's all I can tell about it for the moment.
I guess we have to wait to see if my information is correct or not.
I hope to give you some more information soon, so please take a look at the Illy & Amici
collection site every now and then.
january 11th, 2004
The illy & amici collection site
wishes everybody a very good 2004
And we will start this new year with many (NEW!!) offers that you can find in the section.
october 17th, 2003
American pop artist James Rosenquist designed the newest illy collection.
The release coincides with a retrospective of Rosenquist's work at the
Guggenheim Museum in New York debuting on October 17, 2003.
Very special about this "coffee flowers ideas" set is that it adorns two porcelain
mugs of different designs.
The set, that comes in a beautifully gift boxed with a can of illy espresso and a
collection brochure, can be bought through the American illy site for $50 or at
the Guggenheim Museum.
september 26th, 2003
A new illy collection (2004) set will be released soon. "Pen Tests" was designed
by Padraig Timoney (born in 1968 in Ulster). The drawings for this collection (please take a look
at the picture below) were taken from a few sheets of paper that were picked up in stationary shops.
From october 1st there are signed and numbered cappuccino and espresso versions available. The espresso cups are packed with 6 or 2 cups.
july 11th, 2003
Last time I mentioned the release of the "Dreams and Conflicts" cup on this news section.
This individual cup is signed and numbered like all illy collection cups (except the first set).
Inside the cup you can find the inscription "illy collection"
But, ... there is more ... beside this individual cup, there are four other cups (in an espresso and cappuccino version)!
As you can see on the picture below, they have the the same kind
of decoration, but with different colors. Beside that two of the cups don't have the words
"dreams" and "conflicts" printed on them, but the Italian translation "sogni" e "conflitti".
Unlike the individual cup, the saucers of these cups are not decorated.
Inside the cups you can find the inscription "illy espresso".
And that is the big difference! These cups are not illy collection cups, but bar cups.
So, they are not signed and numbered.
But even if they are only bar cups, the real illy fans will want them in their collection.
And that might be a problem because
they are not for sale, so they can not be bought in shops or through the illy internet site.
The only way to get one would be to to give a very friendly smile to the bartender and
"borrow" one when you had another great illy espresso at the Biennale :-)
june 15th, 2003
The 50th International Art Exhibition has been opened in Venice.
As a partner of La Biennale di Venezia.
and in harmony with the very theme of the exhibition: "Dreams and Conflicts: The Dictatorship of The Viewer"
a special limited cup (2500 pieces) has been designed by Francesco Bonami.
You can
buy it at the shop at the Biennale and through the internet on the Italian illy site.
april 30th, 2003
The new illy collection cup In principo marks
the beginning of the collaboration between the Brazilian
photographer Sebastião Salgado and illy.
In occasion of his exhibition in Rome (may 16th - july 31st), the decorated cup and
saucer can be bought together with a booklet and a can of coffee. There are 6600 pieces of this
cup made.
march 30th, 2003
Every now and then enthusiast collectors mail me pictures of cups that are not on my site.
As for a couple of days I did not really believe that there was a beige Amici Trazzine set, beside the well known blue one.
Thanks to the pictures that Frederic Heintz mailed me, I know that it exists. And of course, I
would like to share it on my site.
Even so interesting is the picture that Bart van Kempelen sent me. He found out that there is
an Amici set that I did not know of. I knew that Amici made two sets (Zebra for SB vaccins
and Perfonture for Demoscope). The sets were given away by these companies as relation gifts. You can find them in the Special Amici section.
But, as the picture below shows, it seems that the Spirali set was given away by the Swiss company Permamed too.
march 14th, 2003
Well, the Steinbach 5th cup (2000 pieces, with a book in a special package) can be bought on the Italian illy site too now.
And from March 24th the 4 cup set can be bought here too.
On this day you can also buy the Nude set (see below). Please notice that this is not an illy collection set.
The four Crystal cups do not have the name illy collection, and they are not signed and numbered.
march 10th, 2003
On March 7th, Andrea Illy opened the 10 year illy collection exposition
at the "Bijenkorf"warehouse in Rotterdam.
It was a great evening with, of course, a lot of espresso. After a short opening speech mr. Illy even took some time to sign a cup for me.
He also presented the new Haim Steinbach set that is available at the store from March 17th.
But there is more....a very limited edition fifth cup is also available.
This special cup is gift-boxed with a book by Steinbach and will be featured at The Armory Show International Fair of
New Art in New York.
The cups can be bought through the illy USA site too. However, you need an address and credit card that's
registered in the USA.
3rd november 2002
As you might have noticed, illy has renewed their site.
It looks great again, and the best thing is that you can read it in three languages now (Italian, French and English).
Today, I've added an section.
Here you can find the old news.
As I mentioned before, I don't know what is going on with the board, but somehow it seems to be off the air.
At the moment there is not much that I can do about it. I use a "free" board and did not get a message that the provider is having troubles.
I will wait for while and see what happens.
If it's not going to be back on line, I will try to make an new message board later on this year. IF YOU HAVE GOOD TIP, please let me know.
8th october 2002
With the opening of the exhibition by Louise BOURGEOIS, on the 7th of october 2002, illy celebrated 10 years of illy collection at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris .
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I had the pleasure to be a part of this great event where many former illy collection artist
came to take a look at the cups they made for illy through the years. Beside meeting some of these artists
in person it was really nice to meet some great Italian friends from illy that I have been mailing with for a long time.
Beside a lot of talking, looking at the exhibition and enjoying the nice dinner,
I was also able to see some other collectors.
One of them even made some digital pictures (thanks Bert Warta), so you might want to follow
the link to take a look at them later on.
But, ....the highlight of the evening was the talk that I had with Dottore Ernesto Illy him self.
Yes that's me standing next to him on the left.
After talking to this inspiring man, you know everything about coffee, coffee machines
and ... of course ... how to make a good espresso out of it.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. When we left the Palais de Tokyo late in the evening, illy had a very
nice surprise for a us. The "Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime" cup was given away as a gift to remember this very special event.
Many thanks for a great night!!!
30th September 2002
I have some extra information about the Louise Bourgeois cups. The four cups with different writings
are a regular set. But there will be a 10th anniversary single cup with the writing "Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime".
This cup will be limited to 3.000 pieces and it comes in a special package. The set and the single cup can be bought through the Italian
illy site from 02/10/2002 and 08/10/2002.
"Dream" by Yokomizo can be bought there too from 02/10/2002, it comes as an espresso set and as a cappuccino set
22nd September 2002
In the very near future two new illy sets will be released. A regular set will be "Dream", by the
Japanese artist Shizuka Yokomizo. As you can see on the picture below, both
the cups and the saucers are decorated.
Another set will be "Le Jour La Nuit Le Jour". This set of four cups and saucers,
will be released to celebrate the exhibition of Louise Bourgeois at the "Palais the Tokyo" in Paris.
10th July 2002
SPIRITCUP
Well, the good news about the SPIRIT CUP being sold at the French illy site did not last very long. As You might have noticed
it is already sold out.
9th July 2002
VIVE LA FRANCE
From today on the SPIRIT CUP is for sale for only 275 euro
(shipping included) on the French illy site. However, you need
an address in France to have it send to.
11th June 2002
On the 11th of June 2002, the illy and amici collection site
was hit for the 10.000th time!
To celebrate this, there will be a 10% discount
on all the items
in the section,
in June and July!
24th May 2002
I just got the news that the Spirit Cup is sold out on the USA illy site too! Thanks for the information Federic.
As I mentioned on the site before,
the Club des Collectionneurs de Tasses d'Artistes is back on line.
When you subscribe to the Club before June 30th 2002, you will get the new illy collection poster (from 2002) as a gift.
Finally, just a message concerning the 
. Please notice that messages will be removed automatically after a period of 90 days, so you might want to post it again!
22nd May 2002
There's a lot going on with the Spirit Cup. After a couple of minutes it could not be bought on the
Italian illy site anymore . And as far as I know it can not be bought at the New Museum of Contemporary Art
in New York either anymore. So, prices went up (on ebay) and I guess that many collectors were very disappointed.
But, SURPRISE! It is now available through the USA illy
site for $299. You only need an address in America! Just follow the link!
9th May 2002
People mailed me about the Spirit Cup that can not be bought on the illy site.
Some how it was sold out very fast.I looked just a couple of minutes after midnight on May 8th and could not buy one either.
The good news is, that the cup can still be bought at
the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York for US$299!
4th May 2002
The Michelangelo Pistoletto set is, beside the illy site, also available in the regular shops.
And as you might have noticed the Jannis Kounellis cup will be available on the internet from June 26th.
But the best new is that on May 4th Marina Abramovic presented "Spirit Cooking" together with a new illy collection espresso cup
(Spirit Cup) at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York (SoHo).
At that occasion she signed the books in celebration of Charta's (a publisher of art books
in Europe) ten-year anniversary and "Book Expo America 2002".
From May 8th a set can be bought on the Italian illy site. The set is very limited
(500 or 750 pieces?) and only one set per person can be bought. The price ….€ 260.
Yes, that's maybe a little high, but take a look at that, with 23,5 carate gold paint, docorated cup !!!!!
But there is more ….The idea for the illy collection 2002 set "No water no coffee" was born last year.
The young artist Maria Joao Calisto was chosen between the students of the school-laboratory of the
Pistoletto Foundation. illy caffe' supports this for 3 years, titled "UNIDEE-University of Ideas".
You might think, where did I see those pictures on these cups before…..? Well, they show parts of the illy internet site, so it might look familiar to you.
The set can be bought on the Italian internet site for € 89.90 from the 8th of May .
Later on, the sets will be available through the normal distributors in Europe.
27th april 2002
On April 20th, in Ghent (Belgium) a new illy collection espresso Cup (3000 pieces) has been released. It is designed by the Greek artist Jannis Kounellis
for his exhibition at the the SMAK Museum (April 21 - June 23)
At he moment the cup can only be bought at the shop in the SMAK museum. But as you can see on the illy site (eshop) in Italy,
it can be bought there soon too.
The price of 103 Euro is very tough, but it comes in a very nice special package
10th march 2002
On the 13th of March, illy will release a new set by Michelangelo Pistoletto.
This set of six cups will come in three different kits of two cups! Please see the picture below.
We will let you know more soon, how you can buy these different packages
...only on the illy site...etc?
17th february 2002
"People and Places with No Name" was designed by the photographer Michel Comte. This cup was designed in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross to support the victims of the conflicts in Angola, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
2000 of this new illy collection 2002 cups were made, both the cup and the saucer are decorated.
It can be bought for Euro 48,- through the Italian illy site, again only by using a shipping address in Italy.
9th december 2001
The "Miss illy" cup is finally for sale. Since november this cup has been sold in Germany for the DKMS
Deutsche Knochenmarksspenderdatei gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH (a German association of donors of bone marrow).
Now it is also for sale through the Italian illy web site and US web sites.
The cup is for sale on the Italian site for EURO 27,11 (app. US$ 25). The US site sell the cup for US$55.
30th september 2001
Lots of illy news this time!
The illy collection 2002 series will arrive soon.
The 6 cup espresso set International Flight by Norma Jeane and the cappuccino cups of the same series will be released october 15th.
But there is more...
The espresso cups set by Marina Abramovic will also be released at that time:
And illy will have another surprise for us this fall:
the Miss illy cup made in cooperation with Swarowsky.
5th may 2001
There is a new single illy collection cup. International flight
This is the first of a set of six cups that will be released later this year.
The artist is Norma Jeane, she currently participating in the studio program of the PS1 museum in New York.
The cup comes in a special package that looks like a washing machine, very nice!!
It's for sale for about US$45 from the Italian illy site, but you need an Italian mailing address!
7th march 2001
The next illy collection set that will be released is by Jeff Koons.
The 6 cup set contains decorated cups and saucers picturing phantom images of animals.
The cups are: giraffe, monkey, goat, donkey, elephant and sheep.
The saucers: pony, cow, kangaroo, bear, hippo and walrus.
I wonder if any of these animals suffer from crazy cow, mouth and foot or other diseases????
november 2000
The latest illy collection set to be released is:
Artistas do Brasil
Designed by six Brasilian artists especially for the
10th Premio Brasil de Qualidade do Cafè para Espresso in Sao Paolo, Brasil.
This set in special packaging is the 2000 edition. There will be a regular 2001 set available this year.
500 of these sets are only available in Sao Paolo.
BUT, there are also 500 for sale on the illy italy web-site for 128,60 EURO. (+/-US$110).
Anyone can buy, but they have to be shipped to an address in Italy.
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