It’s pretty easy to appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into creating specialty appliances and fixtures when we see and touch them in the showroom, but it’s another thing to actually watch artisans at work. Before we go any farther with Teuco, the Italian bath firm born in 1972 and which has retained its unwavering cool ever since, take a look at these two videos. The first shows the gilding of an Accademia tub that would make Louis XIV swoon, and the second shows the painting of a limited-edition Accademia tub with unrelenting precision (this one just arrived at Snyder Diamond):

Both of these videos demonstrate Teuco’s forty-plus years of innovation and imaculate styling. Since the early ‘70s, they have created some of the most iconic and celebrated designs in the field: the Doccia Tonda (which means "round shower") was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in 1974; they created the first electronic, glass-enclosed Turkish bath in 1980; and the Ron Arad-designed Rotator shower was shown at MAK in Vienna in 2009.

Over the course of about three decades they have also patented multiple whirlpool systems (from the first and only silent example to high-powered minimalist jets), and just last month they won two Interior Innovation Awards from the German Design Council at IMM Cologne. One award went to the Accademia POP bathtub—the peppy little striped number you saw in the video, and the other to the I Bordi bathtub designed by renowned architect Carlo Colombo. Be it marble or acrylic you’re after, Teuco designs bring a fluid yet edgy and almost Halston-like vibe to the bathroom. And it doesn't stop at bathtubs and showers, the company also produces an incredible range of sinks and bathroom furniture, even saunas too.

(And because we're a little bit smitten with the company's archival photos, check out the two designs, Doccia Tonda and Rotator, below, that were installed at MoMA and MAK. Now that's good design!)