Our Craftsmen
To take a further step you have to look backwards!
It sounds like a nonsense but this is exactly our philosophy.
Moving forward towards the evolution of technology, ability and exclusivity implies a backshift to manual production, to the wisdom of the artisan who creates and produces a limited number of unique and amazing pieces.
There are numerous craftsmen and new ones are joining this project, each specialized in a specific area.
Here below we'd like to introduce them and their personal stories.
Gianluca
"Do you want to know what one of the greatest memories of my childhood is?
The smell of leather! I was born and raised in a family in which my father was one of the most well-known artisans in the province of Vicenza. It was normal for me to play in his workshop among the boxes and leather ready to be used in various productions.
Every once in a while I would watch him while he worked surrounded by tons of drawings, patterns, glues and tools, and he would cut pieces of leather with perfect precision with a strange instrument, similar to an exacto knife. Finally, after several hours of work, as if by magic, the pieces took the form of a beautiful purse… My father was a magician!
With the passing of the years, I came to understand that it was not magic, but that he was an unquestionable skilled craftsman, with an innate talent that he made his own and further developed. Over the years, my curiosity and desire to follow in his footsteps became increasingly clear. I worked with him first as an employee, then as his partner, until I took flight: I opened my own craftsman laboratory!
Now I work on creating people’s dream products. They come to my shop with an idea or an object to restore or recreate. And just as my father did, I pick up my leather cutter and make such a noble material as leather come back to life in an actual object according to my clients’ requests.
At present, I have joyfully accepted to be part of the YourMadeInItaly team because they reflect what I am and what I do, and thanks to them we artisans and artists can keep this Italian story alive. It is a story of culture, traditions and values envied throughout the world."
Claudio and Stefano
"We are brothers, 57 and 54 years old, Claudio and Stefano. We began this journey 30 years ago thanks to a little inspiration from Stefano.
We work in the hills of the North of Italy, not far from Lake Garda. This area is also famous for the plenty of tanneries you can find.
If you own something made of Italian leather, the leather most likely has been produced here or in Firenze.
We started this off our own back, looking to each other for inspiration. We spent our formative years teaching ourselves without any external aids. That’s why we produce items that are unique.
They come from our brain.
We take the ultimate care in the production process. Because of this we deal with it from start to finish, this includes concept design, prototyping, hand cutting, attention to detail and finishing. We are in great demand and could sell a lot of products to the top fashion brands.
We’ve worked with many of them. But we decided to keep a limited production run and not produce for the mass market. That means we produce only a few pieces but each is luxurious and the bespoke products we make for 'YourMadeInItaly.com' really give free rein to our creativity."
Amedeo
“I got my training as a mechanical technician. I had nothing to do with fashion. I came into the world of leather by chance. At a certain point in my life I found work as a production manager in a leather clothing company. Thanks to my innate creativity and great will for professional research and growth, I was the right person at the right place and the right time.
After a few years in which I had grown professionally and increased my knowledge in the sector, a colleague and I decided to open up our own company which better reflected our innovative, original ideas. When he passed away, I decided to continue and follow in his footsteps, even out of respect and to honor his memory.
Among the numerous people I had the pleasure of working with, was a small-scale entrepreneur from the Veneto region, named Lino Dainese. We were on the same wavelength and had a good rapport, so much so that he was the one who suggested I take into consideration the motorcycling sector. Perhaps he saw talent in me. I was young, creative, willing to work hard, …no one else had believed so much in me to spur me on to that sector that was nearly unknown at that time.
There was no one else in the area who worked in technical and personalized motorcycling clothing.
Having a custom-made leather suit, designed especially for you was only for the few. The results were positive and the word of mouth of satisfied clients was fundamental, both for my business and as a stimulus to continue on the path started with my late business partner.
Following that period, globalization and crises made it impossible for small Italian companies like ours to compete with the large-scale businesses that were gaining popularity as major brands of the sector. This is the case even today and is leading to the loss of our artisanal workers. The industry is capable of making large quantities and various product lines and of dictating market prices, but it is not able to make a unique piece. An artisan can make a unique piece and then immediately devote him/herself to a new project. When a manufacturer makes a new model it then has to mass produce it, and make sure that it is a winning, profitable model. Little does it matter whether it meets the needs of each individual customer.
But handicrafts and custom-made are completely different things. Every new job you do is a challenge and challenges, in my opinion, are made to be won. How? …with creativity, commitment, and the willingness to always create something new and original, something unique.
Another characteristic that sets me apart is that I always try to use the best there is, not only of materials, but even in the production process. By doing so, I create a product not only of quality, but even unique and timeless.”
Laura C.
“I was born in the province of Venice in 1984. After getting my degree in Arts at the Cà Foscari University of Venice, with a thesis on the Critique of Contemporary Art, I discovered the mosaic, which perfectly reflected my way of being. Not so far from Venice there is the prestigious Friuli Mosaicist School which I immediately enrolled in. In 2008 I won the ‘Gian Domenico Facchina’ Mosaic Award and in 2010 I earned the title of master mosaicist. Soon after, I began working for myself and collaborating with my husband Mohamed C.
I think that the mosaic concept can be used even in experimental contexts, both artistic and cultural, but even trendy ones. Indeed, one of my favorite fields of application is the use of the micro-mosaic for the creation of jewelry. I like to observe a person, the way she dresses, the colors she prefers, the way she moves. I like to talk to her, pick out particular aspects of her personality, perhaps observing some of her photographs, or where she lives, until I am able to identify some features of what makes her unique. After doing so, I am able to give way to my sensations and create a unique piece of jewelry entirely by hand, with several materials and different colors, to represent that individual.
It is a piece of jewelry that contains the story of that person, that speaks of her, exalts her qualities and that could never stir the same reactions if worn by another person.”
Mohamed
“I was born in 1978 in Aleppo, Syria. I arrived in Italy and at the Friuli Mosaicist School after experimenting various artisanal techniques in Syria (calligraphy, film transfer, textiles). I have always expressed myself through drawing. I like to work with my hands, seeking technical and material solutions. The encounter with the mosaic as an art form marked a special space in which all of this came together, and the mosaic became a way to tell a story.
I graduated in 2005 and a few months later I started my own business. That same year, I won first place in the contest ‘Bergolo city of stone’ – Cuneo, with the work of art entitled ‘Foglia di Vita’ (Leaf of Life).
In 2010 I started working with my wife Laura C. and in 2016, on occasion of the 10th business anniversary, we decided to join the group of artisans of YourMadeInItaly to make mosaic art and contemporary mosaics known in the U.S.”
Martino
Passion and experimentation lead to new discoveries. After deciding to continue on in craftwork started by my father 50 years ago, I understood that I could find a point of contact between my interest in the artistic world and the engraver’s laboratory.
That was thanks to new technologies and CNC machines.
The milling cutter, laser, and printer are instruments that, like a paintbrush, give shape to thoughts.
It is the world to come in which experience and new requests of clients are integrated, enriching knowledge of techniques and materials.
The personalization of a gift, the desire to stand out in a crowd.
