Afra Scarpa (1937 - 2011) and Tobia Scarpa (born 1935) are award-winning architects and designers whose furniture designs can be found in the permanent collections of museums worldwide.  The Scarpas have collaborated with several important manufacturers including B&B Italia, Cassina, Gavina, Flos, and Knoll.  Afra Scarpa (née Bianchin) was born in Montebelluna, Italy; Tobia Scarpa in Venice, Italy. Both earned degrees in architecture from the Università Iuav di Venezia in 1957.  From 1957 to 1961, Tobia worked as a glass designer at the Murano glassworks of Venini, and then in 1960 the two artists opened their own design office in Montebelluna.  The couple was greatly influenced by Tobia's father, Carlo Scarpa, a much-celebrated Venetian architect and designer.