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We live with Elena in a country that is special in every corner because you are able to find art, history and handcrafted, (as well as wine and food) even in the decorations of the buildings and this is one of the reasons we decided to create MY BOX FROM ITALY.
Our adventure starts in Florence, if you have been to this amazing city you already know how amazing it is, and since we are going to work constantly with artisans, and handcrafts I would love to introduce you to the history of the guilds.
What were the guilds? secular corporations that controlled the arts and trades in Florence.
They were divided into major guilds, middle guilds and minor guilds.
They had diligent quality control; imagine that one requirement to be part of the guild was: to give proof of competence in the craft involved.
Think that the guilds organized every aspect of the economical life of the city! And they were an important part of the history of Florence.
One of the most famous was L’arte di Calimala the cloth-merchants' guild,
One of the aspects of the the guilds of Florence that I like the most when I learned about in school is that: they protected its members from competition within the city by strangers and Florentine outsiders, guaranteed the quality of work through strict supervision of the workshops (botteghe), stipulated work hours, established markets and feast days, and provided public services to its members.
And today we can enjoy during the whole year still this amazing feast days and markets to know, enjoy and purchase this handcrafts treasures and take them with us at home!
Here are some examples of the guilds:
Arte della Lana: Wool manufacturers and merchants
Arte della Seta: Silk weavers and merchants
Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai: Furriers and skinners
Arte dei Calzolai: Shoemakers
Arte dei Linaioli e Rigattieri: linen manufacturers, retail cloth deals and tailors.
Arte dei Cuoiai e Galigai: Curriers and tanners
Arte dei Legnaioli: Carpenters
Among others, imagine all the things they did, and you will be asking yourself why I am talking to you about the guilds?
Because MY BOX FROM ITALY was created with the idea of finding handpick for you the artisans and handcrafted traditions from centuries, work of generations!
But for US handcrafted what does it mean?
It means passion, and love for what the hands can create. Generations have worked in the bottega and have learned to create high quality products that are unique! Using still today the same tools and the same passion and love that their ancestors inculcated to them.
A piece of handcraft is not just an object, it has history, love, passion and has a small piece of soul of the person or persons that dedicate hours and days and sometimes months to create it, and this is what we want you to enjoy in each box from my box from Italy.
We want you to experience through us, the visit to the bottega and as well the research and choosing every single object. That is why my job with this blog will be to transmit the whole experience for you.
When we were visiting the bottega, there was something special just by knocking the door, going inside smelling the perfumes of work,and listening to the sound made by the tools. Understanding the tales and watching how they work and admiring the final product, made our hearts jump of joy! Because we know that amazing pieces will get to your home and you will travel through them and enjoy them as we did when we were hand picking them specially for you!.
Join us through these blogs, photos, videos, in our social media.
Let us know what is handcrafted for you and if you bought a piece of handcrafted on any of your trips remember your adventure.
Dina and Elena
