Back in January, we had the incredible opportunity to visit Florence, Italy, to check in with one of our favorite leather brands, Il Bisonte. The brand was founded in Florence in 1970 by the great Wanny Di Filippo. Wanny’s passion for the finest vegetable tanned leathers still shines through, even though he has moved on from the company. The brand proudly boasts that they are exclusively made in Tuscany over the last 55 years. We decided after 10 years of a partnership with the brand, it was high time to visit our friends in their factory, and we are so glad we did.
Il Bisonte founder Wanny Di Filippo, photo courtesy of Alessandro Moggi
The day started with a meet up at Piazzale Michelangelo, which is a hilltop with a 360-degree view of Florence and the surrounding Tuscan landscape.
We'll take one of each
We got to meet some people who have worked in the factory since the very beginning. They proudly showed us their new leather cutting machine, which has only been in use for the last few years as all leather had previously been cut by hand. We got to use our own hands (with some instruction from their team) to create our own leather pencil holder, after which it was time to pause for a beautiful lunch at La Bottega a Rosano, of course served Italian-style with wine, bread, meats and cheeses, and lots of laughter.
Luca (left), who has been hand-cutting leather for Il Bisonte since the beginning, and Raffaele, our guide extraordinaire for the day and so much more.
Il Bisonte's prized new leather-cutting machine
Wanny presides over a wall of trim
We finished the tour getting to finally meet face-to-face with people we’ve been emailing with for years. The Italians have such a special way of making you feel welcomed and cared for; they treated us that evening to the most special meal at one of their favorite spots in Florence, Cafe Cibreo. We highly recommend it when you find yourself in the neighborhood. Ciao!
Dinner at Cafe Cibreo
See our current collection of Il Bisonte online and in store.
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