November 8th Inspirational Entrepreneur Event Featuring Mario & Cathy Costantini, founders of
La Lune Collection

Mario Costantini, a native of Argentina, met his wife Catherine at Marquette University in 1977. Fresh out of Marquette and without any money, experience, or formal education in the field, Mario and Cathy launched a successful interior design firm named Mario Costantini Ltd. on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Soon after, the Costantinis launched the La Lune Collection, a rustic furniture manufacturing company. In 1986, at a time when manufacturing was beginning to move abroad, the Costantinis decided instead to move their business to an abandoned, turn-of-the-century factory in Riverwest, a declining and neglected neighborhood. Today, La Lune Collection is sold nationally through interior designers and architects via showrooms in major cities and is widely considered by those in the design trade to be the consummate rustic furniture in the industry. La Lune's clientele includes Disney, Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey, and John McCain, to name just a few.  The company is also a favorite of environmentalists and is considered by many to be the most eco-friendly furniture made today. The Riverwest neighborhood, where La Lune is still located, has undergone tremendous urban renewal since the Costantinis moved their business there in 1986. The Costantinis have played a crucial role in the neighborhood's revitalization, from co-founding the Holton Youth Center and the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC) and numerous other programs. They remain active in those organizations, as well as First Stage Children's Theater, Pearls for Teen Girls, Next Act Theatre, the Florentine Opera Company, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Saint Joan Antida High School.