As a child Lino Sabattini moved to a small village on the banks of Lake Como in Italy.
His career in metalworking began early with a job in a local brass workshop at the age of 14, his years in the workshop gaining practical experience of materials and metalsmithing techniques were coupled with his discover of the famous design magazine Domus. Sabattini later served an informal apprenticeship with the refugee German ceramist, Roland Hettner, the artist who would inspire his interest in shapes derived from the behaviour of materials.
At the age of 30, Sabattini established a small workshop in Milan, a move that would eventually lead him to meet his idol Gio Ponti. Ponti was so impressed the young designer that he began to commission and exhibit his work, putting Sabattini on the international stage. Just a year later, in 1956, the prototype of the designer's 'Como' service created quite the sensation in the Paris exhibition 'Forme ed idee d'Italia'. From 1956–63, while still active in Milan he was the Director of Design for Christofle Orfèvrerie, Paris.
