Marco Pasanella

Marco Pasanella (born October 11, 1962) is an American-Italian designer, writer and wine shop owner.
Before opening his eponymous wine shop, Pasanella & Son, Vintners, in his Lower Manhattan building, Pasanella was a noted designer. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy flooded that shop and home with over six feet of water. He is the author of two books, Living In Style Without Losing Your Mind (2000) and Uncorked (2012) and a former columnist for The New York Times.
==Early life and education==
Marco was born in New York City, the child of architect, Giovanni Pasanella, and sociologist, Ann (Kenigson). He has one brother, Nicolas, an architect. Pasanella graduated from Yale University in 1984.
==Design==
Pasanella first broke into the design field by winning a 1991 competition sponsored by the Sony Corporation and Metropolis magazine. Preceding widespread commercial availability by about a decade, he described his solar lamp as an idea “whose time has almost come.” Pasanella later gained national attention in the design field with his Sideways Rocking Chair, a re-interpretation of the classic ladder back rocker. In 1992, the chair was selected for the Permanent Collection of the Smithsonian National Design Museum and was featured on the cover of The Rocker. Subsequent furniture and housewares designs including his ‘Etiquette’ place mat series were also acquired for the Smithsonian’s collection. Another furniture design, his ‘Dresser/Desk’, was named along with the original Apple MacBook as “Best of 1991: Design” in Time magazine. Marco has been featured in numerous television, radio and print media and named to various top-designer lists including to the I.D. Forty: An Insider’s Guide to America’s Leading Design Innovators and Metropolitan Home’s Design 100. Pasanella taught in the product design, interior design and architecture departments at the Parsons School of Design.
==Wine==
In 2003, Pasanella bought an 19th-century fish market building at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge which he renovated with his wife, Rebecca Robertson. Two years later, they opened a wine shop in the bottom floor, Pasanella & Son, Vintners. The ‘Son’ in the store’s name was a nod to their newborn. Pasanella started production of his Pasanella & Figlio brand wines in 2008. When New York State considered amending liquor laws to allow supermarkets to sell wine, Marco wrote an editorial for The New York Times embracing the competition, entitled "If You Sell Wine, Let Me Sell Cheese".
==Writing==
Marco wrote Living In Style Without Losing Your Mind (2000), a guide to transforming living spaces. His other book, Uncorked (2012), describes the challenges and, ultimately, the satisfaction, of mid-career change from design to wine. Marco wrote a design column called 'Room to Improve' for The New York Times and has contributed to GQ and Esquire magazines. 
===Hurricane Sandy===
On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy inundated his waterfront building. Pasanella initially sounded optimistic about the Seaport neighborhood's future. On the storm’s 10th anniversary, however, he was more pessimistic in an editorial for The New York Times entitled “I’m No Longer Sure That New York City Will Protect Itself From Rising Waters”.
==Civic Activities==
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Marco founded the Old Seaport Alliance, a neighborhood improvement association. In 2012, he was appointed to Manhattan Community Board 1. He has also served as a member of the Seaport Working Group, NY Rising Taskforce, CB1 Resiliency Taskforce. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Downtown Alliance Exceptional Service Award.
Marco was an Executive Committee Member of the Contemporary Arts Council of the Museum of Modern Art, 1987-89 and an Honorary Member from 1997.
==Personal Life==
Pasanella married Rebecca Robertson, an interior designer and former editor at Martha Stewart Living in 2002. They have one son, Luca, 17. Marco lives part-time in an 18th-century villa in Camaiore, Italy.
Category:1962 births
Category:People from New York City
Category:Italian Americans
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Designers
Category:Writers
Category:Ownership