Anytime we come across a brand or a maker who shares an ethos with us we like to share them with you and Antico Setificio Fiorentino is one such brand. They make beautiful, traditional silks on handwoven looms in the San Frediano in Florentine tradition as they have since 1786. Their website and literature is a veritable what’s what of silk, explaining the differences in the silks and their corresponding patterns in exceptional detail. From Erminsino to Filaticcio, Broccatello to Lampasso even a textiles enthusiast feels like they have learned something from visiting their world.
Their website is definitely worth a visit with lots of striking images and hypnotic video clips of the looms. It gives a great sense of the scale of time it must take to make a batch of made to measure cloth. The delicate threads and fibres weave seamlessly through the looms, some of which date back to the 18th century and are based on the original designs of Leonardo Di Vinci. Antico Setificio Fiorentino go to great efforts to share with the public the art of weaving, as they recently exhibited the Di Vinci warping machine in Milan in April. They also have an ongoing project with the State Archives of Florence to restore and digitise ancient volumes of the Art of Silk and the Art of Wool in order to preserve this rare insight into weaving of the past.
It’s lovely to see such passion and enthusiasm for an ancient craft and that it still has a place and desirability in current textile production. However with such an eye for detail and quality as is seen here, it is no surprise that they continue to thrive.
