Since 1976
In 1971, three brothers started making furniture by hand in Edmonton. They were trying to build things that would last. Fifty years later, that is still the only thing we care about.
Le Belle Arti opens a glass furniture manufacturing shop in Edmonton. The Milite brothers begin making things with their hands. Among the first pieces sold: the Togo by Ligne Roset, through Arconas, its licensed Canadian manufacturer. One of the most important furniture designs of the 20th century, available in Edmonton before most of Canada knew it existed.
Le Belle Arti opens as a retail destination. Orlando Milite leads the creative vision. The collection shifts to a combination of three materials: exotic woods and lacquers, brushed stainless steel, and glass. Bold yet timeless, it sells across Canada and into the United States. A captive audience finds it immediately.
Orlando Milite begins designing under the Milite Design name. Original pieces: the CT-01 coffee table in brushed nickel steel and glass, the BUF-ARTE sideboard in birdseye maple with brass accents, the Triclilinium. Designed and produced in Edmonton. Sold throughout Canada and the United States. These are not pieces sourced from a catalog. They are original works, conceived and built here.
A client asks for a kitchen. It is not part of the plan. Word of mouth takes over. For the next decade, ninety percent of production shifts to custom cabinetry and bathroom vanities, built with hardware and wood imported from Europe. Orlando sees the gap and moves toward it.
A formal partnership with Snaidero brings world-class Italian kitchen design to Canada. Pininfarina. Massimo Losa Ghini. Lucci Orlandi. Kitchens designed by the same minds that shape cars and buildings. The Canadian market gets access to Italian design at its highest level.
Fifty years of the store. Three showrooms. Edmonton. Calgary. A dedicated B&B Italia space, the only one of its kind in Alberta. The collection has grown across five decades and across continents. Italian. European. Japanese. North American. The philosophy has not changed once.
The square: the four corners of the world.
The circle: the world itself.
The three lines: the three brothers.
The colours: the Italian flag.
Designed by Orlando Milite. Unchanged in fifty years.
Le Belle Arti is not a furniture store.
It is an interactive design research centre. A playground for the spirit. An esplanade for discovery.
Every item we carry, from a single object to a sofa, must be aesthetically compelling, uncompromising in quality, and genuinely worth living with.
We believe in enduring relationships. With the companies we represent. With the clients we serve.
That has been true since 1976. It remains true today.
Le Belle Arti was built by three brothers. Today it is run by their children.
Orlando Milite, who designed the furniture, named the store, and drew the logo by hand, remains at the centre of it all. In his seventies and still the creative engine of everything we do.
His sons Ivan and Blake run the Edmonton showrooms. Sandro Milite, Frank's son, leads the warehouse, delivery, and installation team, the people who make sure every piece arrives and lives exactly as it was intended.
Three generations. One philosophy. If it is not worth living with, it does not belong here.
B&B Italia. Maxalto. Minotti. Poliform. Cassina. Flexform. De Sede. Baxter. Henge. Moooi. Carl Hansen and Son. Herman Miller. Ingo Maurer. Fontana Arte. Luceplan. Kasthall. Zanotta. And more.
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