The son of the famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, Tobia Scarpa trained in Venice before launching his career as a as a designer of lamps, furniture, and glass objects. In the early 1960s, he began to design modern furniture based on the principles of Le Corbusier. He and his wife Afra, designed for several of the biggest names in Italian design including Cassina and Gavina SpA, which his father directed. His lighting designs for Flos were so iconic and forward thinking.