DESIGNER'S NOTE: MEET GRACIELA

"My mission is to give my contribution to save animals from the fashion industry by creating unique vegan bags with the distinctive craftsmanship quality of Florence. A quite challenge, I would say, in this Extraordinary Renaissance City well known for holding a reputation for animal leather production for hundreds of years."

Hello there! I'm Graciela, Co-Founder & Creative mind behind Pitti Vintage and this is my story.

Drawn to beautiful and interesting clothing from an early age, I studied fashion in Mexico City, where I was born and raised. Looking to expand my horizons and experience a bit more of what life had to offer, I moved to New York City in 1997. To further my career I took courses in Fashion Design, draping techniques, patternmaking, beading on fabric, and Haute Couture at the "Parsons School of Art & Design" and the "Fashion Institute of Technology". To pay for school expenses and day-to-day life (Wow is New York expensive!!) I worked as a waitress at one of the many Italian restaurants in the East Village. This is where I met my future husband, Luigi…

We were off to Florence together! In autumn 2004, because of a strong desire to follow my "dream" (literally) we started to research original Italian vintage clothing and began looking for a storefront in which to open a shop. We found a wonderful space on a charming little street called Sdrucciolodei Pitti. It is in the Oltrarno neighborhood (Florence's "left bank") and has been home to artisans for centuries. We very much enjoyed seeing our dream come to life before our eyes. Quite soon, people began to know of this cute shop called Pitti Vintage.

Then in April of 2010, one chapter closes; a new chapter opens. Pitti Vintage entries to the eCommerce world selling ONLY ONLINE with Etsy and Pitti Vintage.com.

THE VEGAN ERA

A few years ago, on a sunny spring day in 2011, one of the most wonderful things happened: My husband and I rescued two adorable dogs from Puglia. This new addition to our lives absolutely thrilled us! and we started to be very sensitive to animals.

Then I designed a bag for myself but I didn't want to use animal leather -after the poor conditions of our dogs before the adoption- I did a research and I found this great Italian quality vegan leather to make my bag.

So I designed and introduced a modest collection of 6 handmade vegan leather bags and started selling online. The great response I had from the vegan community from all over the world was really unexpected and super exciting! That was the moment to start giving my small contribution to save animals from the fashion industry using non-leather alternatives.

WELCOME TO MY STUDIO IN FLORENCE ITALY

I am a happy mexican girl living in Italy for the last 15 years and I'm honored to be part of the Made in Italy. My vegan leather bags are handmade in the Rennaicence city of Florence based on centuries of artisan culture, traditions, and skills. Being part of this priceless heritage has a lot of responsibility, my priority is to save animals from the fashion industry by offering quality vegan products and personal service. Every single piece is designed and carefully handmade by me with so much passion, joy, and precision, the three most important attributes of the beauty of handmade products.