Now that I’m retired, after over 50 years working in the wood sector and the experience gained from more than 30 years of teaching at private schools and public institutions in Italy and abroad, I enjoy continuing to work in the workshop, dedicating myself especially to teaching.
In the last two years I’ve had several students in my old workshop in Florence, in Oltrarno. The workshop still survives the general dissolution of what once made Florence unique: the artisan workshops that passed knowledge down from generation to generation. When I arrived 40 years ago, there were about fifteen of us in Via de’ Velluti; now only three remain. In this small street I continue to represent a past that no longer exists, but which I try to make felt by those who come to visit me. This testimony of mine, immersed in the context of an old-fashioned workshop – with old walls and chairs hanging high on the walls –, conveys emotion to my students.
Contact with the people who attend my courses – young and older, inexperienced and craftsmen eager to deepen traditional techniques, even valuable artists – enriches me and fills me with joy. The students leave with a beautiful memory of their stay in the workshop, and I with the awareness of having met special people. Those who come are motivated and involved, whether for wood inlay courses or antique furniture restoration. I have never spared myself to satisfy them: it’s a reciprocal passion that passes from master to student and vice versa.
In so many years of work I also have many stories to tell; sometimes I surprise even myself with the various past jobs and collaborations I’ve had. I like to remember some of the people who have attended my courses recently. I can’t list them all here; I’ll focus on those who stayed longer in the last two years.
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Marco, dental technician passionate about fishing and inlay: now he enjoys reproducing inlaid works inspired by the world of fish.
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Thierry, Air France pilot on the Paris-Florence route and lathe artist with a workshop in Normandy, in an artists’ tourist village; he wanted to learn other wood working techniques. His partner Irina runs a sculpture workshop in the same setting.
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Brian, Californian retiree passionate about wood inlay, who wanted to learn traditional techniques. He shares his home workshop with his wife Karen, a mosaic expert.
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Fleur, delightful young Australian retiree who, besides running her farm, wants to work wood; she came for an inlay course.
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Kaya, young and very talented Norwegian of Italian mother, with good basic artistic training, curious about tarsia lignea techniques.
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Rei, Japanese university student passionate about restoration: he started with introductory exercises and then proceeded to restore some works in the workshop.
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Katia, Dutch designer: she deepened wood working techniques by creating a stunning box with geometric and figurative inlays, taking care of every design detail. Determined and tireless.
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A sweet Danish lady living in Rome (anonymous for privacy): passionate about mosaic and now wood inlay, she has come to Florence twice for full-week courses and will return. She is 80 years old.
These are memories of shared moments that I carry with me. We greet each other on social media for holidays and birthdays; sometimes we meet again. And so I continue, looking forward to meeting new people interested in my courses, their stories to discover, and moments to share.
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