My name is Alessio, I’m a woodworker and a restorer.
A STORY WITH DEEP ROOTS
I don’t have an artistic background and I haven’t always been an artisan, but I’ve always loved woodworking. I still remember when, as a child, I used to stare at my father while he was carving the walking sticks that we would be using in our raids in the woods looking for mushrooms. In his hands those sticks took shapes that I could only imagine. Then one day he gave me my first carving tools with the solemn vow that I’d only be using them under his watch. What a day! Thirty five years and many band aids have passed since then and I still feel like a child when I work surrounded by wood shavings and chips and that lovely smell.
THE WORK OF a RESTORER
Working as a antique furniture restorer thought me a lot. And not only about techniques. Many times I’ve been commissioned the restoration of old kitchen tables, family heirlooms, not necessarily precious market wise.
Sturdy old kitchen tables, rich in history and stories. The writings and the carvings under the table top spoke of the kids playing in the kitchen, the dings and marks oh their surfaces reminded us of thousands of dinners, birthdays, happy and sad moments.
“ If it is true that the kitchen is the heart of the house, or at least was in the old days, so it is true that the table is the heart of the kitchen.”
It is the book on which the everyday life of that particular family was written. This is the reason why, when I build furniture, I think of something that can be passed on from one generation to the other, like a wordless book which holds the signs of our time and of that of our beloved ones.
