Meet Some of Our Artisans
To take a further step, you have to look backwards!
It may sound paradoxical, but this is exactly our philosophy.
Progress — in technology, skill, and exclusivity — means returning to manual creation, to the wisdom of the artisan who crafts a limited number of unique and extraordinary pieces.
Many artisans have joined the YourMadeInItaly project, each mastering a specific art form.
Here below, we’d like you to meet some of them and discover their personal stories.
Gianluca - Master Leather Artisan
"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 where my father was one of the most renowned artisans in the province of Vicenza. It was perfectly normal for me to play in his workshop, among boxes and pieces of leather ready to be transformed into new creations.
Every now and then, I would watch him at work (surrounded by countless drawings, patterns, glues, and tools) as he cut leather with perfect precision using a strange instrument, something like an X-Acto knife. After several hours of work, as if by magic, the pieces would take the shape of a beautiful handbag… My father was a magician!
As the years passed, I came to understand that it wasn’t magic at all; it was his undeniable skill and innate talent as a true craftsman, refined over time. My curiosity and desire to follow in his footsteps grew stronger year after year. I began working with him, first as an assistant, then as a partner, until I finally took flight and opened my own leather workshop.
Today, I create people’s dream products. Clients come to my shop with an idea or an item to restore or recreate. And just like my father, I pick up my leather cutter and bring this noble material back to life, shaping it into something new and personal.
I am proud to be part of the YourMadeInItaly team, because it reflects who I am and what I do. Thanks to this community, we artisans and artists can continue to keep the Italian story alive; a story of culture, tradition, and values admired all over the world."
Claudio and Stefano - Designers of Handmade Accessories
"We are brothers, Claudio and Stefano, aged 57 and 54. We began this journey 30 years ago, inspired by Stefano’s creative spark.
We work in the hills of northern Italy, not far from Lake Garda, an area famous for its many tanneries. If you own something made of Italian leather, the leather most likely comes from here or from Florence.
We started completely on our own, drawing inspiration from each other. During our formative years, we taught ourselves everything, without any external help. That’s why our creations are truly unique.
They come directly from our minds.
We take the utmost care in every step of the production process. From concept design to prototyping, hand cutting, detailing, and finishing, we personally oversee every stage. Our work is in great demand, and we could easily produce for top fashion brands — in fact, we have collaborated with many of them.
But we chose to keep our production limited, avoiding the mass market. This allows us to create only a few, highly refined pieces. The bespoke products we design for YourMadeInItaly.com give us complete creative freedom, allowing our passion for craftsmanship to fully express itself."
Amedeo - Leather Craftsman for Classic and Motorcycle Apparel
“I was trained as a mechanical technician and had nothing to do with fashion. I entered 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 strong desire for professional growth and experimentation, I turned out to be the right person in the right place at the right time.
After several years of experience, during which I grew professionally and deepened my knowledge of the field, a colleague and I decided to open our own company, one that better reflected our innovative and original ideas. When he passed away, I chose to carry on, out of both respect and the wish to honor his memory.
Among the many people I had the pleasure of working with was a small entrepreneur from the Veneto region, named Lino Dainese. We shared the same vision and worked well together. He was the one who encouraged me to consider the motorcycling sector, perhaps he saw something in me that I had not yet discovered. I was young, creative, and eager to work hard. No one else had believed in me enough to push me toward a field that, at the time, was still almost unknown.
No one in the area was creating technical or personalized motorcycle apparel. Having a custom-made leather suit designed especially for you was a privilege reserved for a few. The results were excellent, and word of mouth from satisfied clients proved fundamental, both for the growth of my business and as motivation to continue the journey begun with my late partner.
Later, globalization and economic crises made it nearly impossible for small Italian companies like ours to compete with the large-scale manufacturers that were rising to prominence. Unfortunately, this remains true today and continues to threaten our traditional craftsmanship. Industry can produce in quantity, in many product lines, and dictate prices, but it cannot create a unique piece.
An artisan, on the other hand, can craft something one of a kind and immediately move on to a new project. A manufacturer must mass-produce a model and ensure that it is profitable. Whether it truly meets the needs of each individual customer is often secondary.
Yet handicraft and custom-made work are completely different worlds. Every new commission is a challenge, and challenges, in my opinion, are meant to be won — through creativity, dedication, and the constant desire to make something new, original, and unique.
Another feature that distinguishes my work is my pursuit of excellence: I always strive to use the finest materials and the best production processes available. This approach allows me to create products that are not only of exceptional quality but also unique and timeless true expressions of authentic Italian craftsmanship.”
Laura C. - Creator of Fine Mosaic and Micromosaic Jewelry
“I was born in the province of Venice in 1984. After earning my degree in Arts from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, with a thesis on the Critique of Contemporary Art, I discovered mosaic art, a discipline that perfectly reflected my way of being. Not far from Venice is the prestigious Friuli Mosaicist School, where I immediately enrolled. 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 independently and collaborating with my husband, Mohamed C.
I believe that mosaic art can also be explored in experimental contexts — not only artistic and cultural, but even contemporary and fashionable ones. One of my favorite fields of application is using micromosaic to create jewelry. I like to observe a person: how she dresses, the colors she prefers, the way she moves. I enjoy talking to her, capturing certain aspects of her personality, perhaps through photographs, or by looking at the place where she lives, until I can identify the elements that make her unique. From there, I follow my instincts and create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry entirely by hand, combining different materials and colors to represent that individual.
It becomes a jewel that tells her story, speaks of her, enhances her qualities, and could never evoke the same emotions if worn by anyone else.”
Mohamed - Contemporary Mosaic Artisan
“I was born in 1978 in Aleppo, Syria. I arrived in Italy and enrolled at the Friuli Mosaicist School after experimenting with various artisanal techniques in Syria, such as calligraphy, film transfer, and textiles. I have always expressed myself through drawing. I like to work with my hands, constantly seeking new technical and material solutions. My encounter with mosaic art opened a special space where all these experiences came together: mosaic became my way to tell stories.
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 - Italy) with a work entitled “Foglia di Vita” (Leaf of Life).
In 2010, I began collaborating with my wife, Laura C., and in 2016, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our business, we decided to join the YourMadeInItaly group of artisans to help promote mosaic and contemporary mosaic art in the United States.”
Martino - Artisan of Personalized Creations and Laser Engravings
"Passion and experimentation lead to new discoveries. After choosing to continue the craftwork begun by my father 50 years ago, I realized that I could find a meeting point between my passion for the artistic world and the engraver’s workshop. Thanks to new technologies and CNC machines, this connection became possible.
The milling cutter, laser, and printer are tools that, like a paintbrush, give shape to ideas. They represent the world to come — a world where experience and the evolving needs of clients come together, enriching our knowledge of techniques and materials.
The personalization of a gift, the desire to stand out from the crowd — this is where my craftsmanship finds its meaning."
