Curio was originally from a little town near Perugia, Italy. He attended the Institute Technico Industriale where he studied architecture and cabinetmaking. After immigrating to the USA he went on to build custom furniture by hand in the family home. Many pieces are still being used some forty years later, including his first custom kitchen crafted at the age of 17.
On February 4th, 1974 Kitchens by Curio was started by Curio Nataloni in Ludlow, MA. During his time with the Ludlow showroom — in which he installed his projects in the morning and met with his clients in the afternoon — he established an excellent reputation for his new kitchen designs and quality installations. During the course of that time he also educated himself through the NKBA and attended kitchen and bath design courses at the University of Notre Dame earning his CKD (Certified Kitchen Designer) qualification.
In the course of his career Curio has won many National and International awards. Most notably he is a TWO time winner of the International Maytag & Wilson-Art CKD competition. The winning projects have been featured at several National Home shows as well as on the front cover of “House Beautiful” — one of which was called “Kitchen of the Year”. After winning the competition in 1993, Curio was asked to be a judge in the 1994 competition! Curio is also an active member in the NKBA and the HBA and was also the former president of the Mass State Home Builders Association from 1999-2000.
In 1984, after 10 years in Ludlow, Curio moved his showroom to Springfield, MA. At that time, Frank Nataloni graduated from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and joined the firm full-time. Having spent many years working part-time with Curio while going through school, it was an easy adjustment. He started working “in the field,” where he gained in-depth knowledge of craftsmanship, working under Curio’s wing.
Frank has also taken many courses through the NKBA, BHA and UMASS, and is a former adjunct professor at Bay Path University, in Longmeadow MA, where he taught Kitchen Design. Frank became the second person in the state of Massachusetts to be a Certified Bathroom Designer. His work has been featured in many publications. “Green” projects are nothing new to Frank, who has completed a number of them, including one for an environmentally ill client where only steel cabinets could be used. Frank has been involved in professional organizations including NKBA, HBA-Remodelers Council, BNI, The FBC, as well as the former Board Chair of the non-profit Revitalize CDC, which helped seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities stay in their homes by way of accommodating renovations.
However, Frank’s most esteemed designation lies within his exclusivity as the only person in Western Massachusetts that holds both the Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD) and Certified Bath Designer (CBD) designations, from both associations.