Originally, there was a lighting company called Tellus Srl. The well known and influential Italian designer and entrepreneur, Dino Gavina, had been central in Tellus’ startup efforts, contributing invaluable ideas and advice. A few years later, Gavina died and some of the original investors in the company lost interest. At that point, Susan Sirigatti Stearn, wife of one of the investors, Stephen Stearn, decided that the lighting work already done in Tellus Srl was too important and interesting to let die. So she arranged to purchase Tellus’ lighting interests and related patents when the company closed. A short time later, Susan formed Tellus Lighting Innovations di Stearn Susan

in Florence in order to continue the lighting. She began with three different products that Gavina had developed with Tellus Srl, namely Via Lattea wall light, Moonlight table lamp and Medici table lamp. She also immediately started working on the “new shade” based on the greeting card that employed the
patented sandwich type layering. This was to become the Pandia and Janis lighting lines. It wasn’t long before Tellus Lighting Innovations became PrimoMaestro Italia, an American company with production entirely in and around Florence.