Umberto reports for work everyday at his factory, where he has for most of his life. His mother started the company and in Umberto's younger years he expanded it by buying other factories and producing some of Italy's finest lace bedding and table linens. As the popularity of lace has decreased and the cost of labor to produce it has increased, his small team of expert sewers now focus on creating highly detailed bedding of exceptional quality, the way bedding used to be made all over Italy.
Bagni Volpi Noemi produces bedding for French Quarter and for the American market with the design influence, and label, of N. C. Souther (a real person named Nancy!) based in Seattle. The focus is on superb fabrics, meticulous sewing and fine embroidery.
I've known Umberto and his family for many years, but this was the first time I got to see their home turf. I had the opportunity to spend part of the day with Umberto at the factory, have lunch with him and take videos of the talented ladies in the factory (see posting of videos below).
Back in the good old days of department stores (the 50's and 60's), many had textile buying offices in Florence and BVN used to produce many of the private label programs for these stores. Check out this archive of framed labels by clicking on it to enlarge and see if you can recognize any of the players; most are now closed:
Like many European businesses, the reins get slowly turned over to the next generation. Umberto and his wife Laura have a daughter, Christiana and she and her husband Nicola run most of the day to day operations.
Meet Christiana:
And meet Nicola:
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