Mon shopping chez les artisans en Toscane dans le ELLE Ukraine

Deuxième article écrit pour le site Internet du ELLE Ukraine ! Elena mon éditeur m’avait demandé de me pencher sur les adresses de shopping chez les artisans à Florence et en Toscane. Découvrez l’article sur le site du ELLE et la traduction ci-dessous en anglais !

Ali

A journey in Tuscany is a dive into great beauty.

You can find the beauty in architecture, arts, landscapes and also in the gestures. Just like Michelangelo or Botticelli’s, drawing lines with a brush, the gestures of craftsmen have stand the test of time across centuries, repeating tirelessly the same precise movements.

Florence and Tuscany are packed with many Bottegas where Italians let free their creativity and unique sense of style. In this article, I present to you my “love list” of shopping addresses where custom-made product is King!

Right in the middle of Florence, in a small street that connects via Tornabuoni with the Uffizi museum, the art of custom made has its true meaning in two shops, Simone Abbarchi and ViaJiyu. My Italian boyfriend’s shirts are all are tailored-made by Simone and nothing is left to chance: size and model of collar, type of fabric, cut, wider wrist size for your watch. To feel Italian all the way, have your initials sewed on the left side of the shirt!

At ViaJiyu, there’s a rainbow of beautiful, flat shoes that is waiting for you, in leather or raffia and 100% made in Italy from the best tanneries such as Stefania’s. I adore the Portofino ballerinas, with its hidden wedge, great comfort for a stylish walk in the center. Color, model, details, everything is customizable, just ask Nicole!

Near café Giacosa, awesome cappuccinos, there is the famous Italian scarf shop Faliero Sarti. Starting from March, they also sell a new brand that I’m very fond of, Caftanii. Two sisters, Ludovica and Ginevra are working on unique, short and long Caftan dresses. The quality of the fabrics is impressive, everything is hand sewn by local tailors.

In the Santa Croce neighborhood, you have to book a rendezvous with Sileno Cheloni, the perfume master of Aqua Flor Firenze, to create a unique fragrance! Starting from your wishes or a perfume top note, Sileno walks you through an extraordinary olfactory journey, choosing extracts from his perfume organ. You can take the personalization further by chiseling the bottle with the first letter of your name.

On Oltrarno’s banks, leather goods are the key attraction! At Dimitri Villoresi studio, your heart will skip a beat for his shopping bags and clutches with a particular geometrical cut. If you have a precise idea, you can also design the bag with Dimitri. Show him your sketches and he will make it and send it to you!

To fill your new shopping bag, go to One over One shop, in via Maggio, to discover their new line of wallets. I ‘m planning to invest in the beautiful black and khaki version. Just next to Palazzo Pitti, in via Sdrucciolo, discover the hand-made note pads with modern illustrations by Giulia Materia. I love them so much that I have framed one!

Planning a tour outside of Florence? In Sesto Fiorentino there is my very favorite, the creative studio of Richard Ginori Factory, where every piece of china is hand-painted. Starting 2014, all the creation is supervised by Alessandro Michele, Gucci new creative director. If you were thinking of going in the Chianti, make sure to stop by in Panzano, walk until the very end of the village to meet Carlo and Karina’s VersoxVerso workshop. Multicolored loafers with superb leathers worked in ostrich and crocodile style. If you are really into ceramics, there are two other places you must know: Impruneta village, famous for Terracotta pots and statues, and Lucia Volentieri’s shop in Castellina in Chianti.

Enjoy shopping Ladies!