MILANO AND MADE IN ITALY: MY LOVE STORY

Milan is famous for being the cradle of design, style and fashion and I am proud to say that I was born there.

But it is certainly not in the good Milan that I grew up, on the contrary: my playground has always been the warehouse of the family business and my playmates my father's workers.

I still seem to hear them: “Daniel, go away from there” or “Daniel, watch your hands” and I still seem to feel my father's hands taking me by the ears to take me away.

I grew up there, among the sewing machines and the leather pallets and I was very close to born on those pallets since my mother worked until the last day and if it hadn't been for a caring colleague, she would have given me birth there, in what later became my home.

Oh yes, because after finishing school (with difficulty) I immediately joined the company and started working side by side, or it would be better to say below, those who until a few years ago were my playmates; in fact my father made me enter the company starting from the lowest step, from the humblest job that could exist: cleaning the workstations from leather scraps and throwing them in the bins.

Imagine an 18-year-old boy, the son of the "boss", who takes out the garbage: if it happens now it would look like a comedy film, but that's exactly how it went.

At the moment I remember that I didn't take it very well: I wanted to do, to learn, to create like my father and instead I had to put aside my spirit of initiative, lower my head and obey.

If you don't know how to do, you can't command

From that moment on I started a long apprenticeship of almost 10 years which allowed me to learn how to recognize all the raw materials: leathers, metals and everything that involves production and, above all, to take control of the production of the company, at the end of my long apprenticeship.

I took on the responsability of the production with full knowledge of the facts and above all with the respect of the workers because I knew it from all points of view, having worked basically in every position. Who can’t do, does not know how to command cites a famous italian proverb and this is my case.

This training, which started from the bottom, also allowed me to have a great advantage when I started designing the items, conceiving belts and collections; now with a single glance I could recognize all types of leather and I knew which one to choose to carry out a certain type of processing.

Authorized personnel will understand what I'm talking about: such as using an excellent full-grain vegetable leather, rich in fats and oils, to make the material react to the heat of a print or a stitched seam.

Not to mention the choice of accessories: select a zamak rather than a brass or a silver depending on the target to be served. All details that cannot be left to chance, especially when you work for big brands that, rightly, never give you the second chance.

My long apprenticeship also served me to get in tune better with my customers, having to interpret a classic brand, a casual brand and enter the DNA, the essence of the identity of each individual brand in order to interpret it and make it in the form of a belt.

Also because let's say it face to face as if it was a friend's confidence at the bar, the belt is one of the most difficult accessories to make and above all to “characterize”; after all, it is only a strip of leather with a buckle and it is no coincidence that in most cases the only difference between one and the other is the brand on the tag. And this is what makes the challenge exciting: I have never liked simple things, the most obvious routes.

The rally: a training ground for life

My rallying soul has certainly influenced in this case: in a rally race, if you want to win, you have to dare more than others and you can only do it if you have trained thoroughly; you can't just look for the easiest or safest way. And I've always wanted to win; most of the times it was like this but I also remember very well the blows I took when I made a mistake: too tight corners, late braking and the difference between the finish line and a ditch is all there: experience and knowledge.

Sport has taught me a lot and it is no coincidence that there are many entrepreneurs who come from the world of competitive sport: you recognize them by the more aggressive attitude that very often leads them to be the best.

But it is thanks to my father if I know every corner of the world of leather goods and if some define me as the specialist in the production of belts for brands.

I thank my father and will always do, even if we no longer work under the same roof.

I always say that covid was an accelerator and an exasperator: those who had a bad state of health had a worsening, the companies that were already limping went into crisis and even some relationships that were tense before the covid came to the break. Unfortunately, the latter is my case: after 28 years (20 of which as president) I left the family business because there was no longer harmony in general, even on the vision of the future, for a couple of years.

I decided to open a new company, investing in myself, my collaborators and giving life to a new project where I finally feel free.

Belts are a serious matter for me

And if I'm here, now, writing this article, it's because I want to finally shed some light on the world of belts.

In almost thirty years of experience I have met many people and worked for many clients, and you do not imagine the stories that someone have told me; some remain more impressed than others and make your skin crawl.

A client of mine, a multinational company in the luggage sector, of which obviously for privacy reasons I will not mention, told me that he risked a penal case because his supplier had made a mistake in stamping a belt; "OPS", said the supplier, but if you think about it, the buyer would have given the CEO of the big brand a criminal case.

As in all things, even in the world of leather goods, there are many people who pass themselves off as specialists and others who really are, but the difference between them is everything.

Try to think about the difference between a general practitioner and a cardiologist: if you have a heart problem, who do you rely on? Who are you ready to spend for? I bet I know the answer. But why don't we very pay the same attention to other areas?

I will not be here to make you a telling-off, on the web you can find many gurus who aim only to inflate their ego.

I am here because I want to help you and make you open your eyes to some aspects of the world of leather goods that you may not know.

And in this historical moment, where we are all paying dearly for the consequences of months of lockdown and consumer fear, I thought it was right to start with the importance of Made in Italy and its protection.

A video will soon be released on my Youtube channel that will explain this difficult legislation in simple words; next week I will always publish a more detailed article here on the blog, where you can some important suggestions for the relationship with your suppliers.

If you have suggestions, advice or even criticisms, I am waiting for you, do not be shy: feel free to write to me at danielgiaconia@outlook.com or contact me on my Linkedin and Facebook social channels.