By Simone Bandini
We are with Giulio and Andrea Calli in their workshop in Anghiari: we haven’t seen each other for a long time and we have a lot to tell and share. It takes a good half hour of confidences and pats on the back before dedicating ourselves to the actual interview and photographic reportage… time has passed but the Calli brothers are always on the ball: they have integrated the noble art of restoration with the modern ability to furnish environments of various nature and concept.
We can say that manual work, being artisans and knowing the craft – since they grew up in an art family and in a restoration workshop – represent the cornerstones of their particular activity.
Which cannot be improvised or codified, fortunately.
Does this set you apart in the market? “Oh, yes – they answer us – we are artisans in the true sense of the word because everything we create comes from handcrafting. We use some tools, but the processes are 100% manual”.
And so, what are your specializations and where is the activity of the laboratory concentrated? “We work a bit on everything related to wood even if we were born as restorers of antique furniture, having acquired a scientific imprint through studies and training courses – in addition to the experience learned in the field. The current times have led us to broaden our horizons by adapting to other processes and styles. They call us for many interventions, from the restoration of a window or door to the reconstruction of custom-made furniture or even to modify an object or an agée piece of furniture, now out of fashion, with an ad hoc finish for example”.
In this respect, the renovation of historic or rural buildings is an important part of their work, from the initial moment of the inspection, through consultancy, restoration and the retrieval of tasteful objects. “That’s exactly how it is – they confirm – our customers call us for advice and guidance, and then proceed with the interventions and also placing unique and original pieces, antique or in any case reconstructed to measure with old recycled wood… We are a completely green company, everything is reused”, smiles Andrea.
In fact, their reference clients include many Italian and foreign families who have recovered villas and cottages, throughout Tuscany, neighbouring regions and beyond: “This type of house has also required restoration work on beams, shutters, fixtures, doors and everything related to wood”. Customers who feel a completely essential and particular satisfaction in recovery: “Yes, without a doubt, they never distort what they find, they respect it and intend to enhance it. There was a moment when we abandoned our cottages, our family furniture; the ‘foreigners’ have taught us to love them again”.
But how do you combine craftsmanship with ‘modern’ environments and residences, can you make bolder proposals that wink at new contaminations? “Today the trend is precisely this: to insert antique, vintage objects, to give a new look to the pieces that are restored. We are able to find the most varied objects thanks to the network of colleagues and suppliers known in over thirty years of activity and to the assiduous research in fairs and markets. The transformation of a disused object can give great satisfaction, even to us artisans, restoring new relevance and life, reinterpreting something that is no longer usable”, certainly not only a technical but also a creative work.
“Restoring an object to its functionality” – continues Giulio – is an extraordinary operation that requires a lot of skills and experience together”. Their main activity, the ‘naked and raw’ work takes place in the laboratory, where the pieces to be restored are brought: “We do everything with our own means, we are completely autonomous. In addition to the laboratory, we have a warehouse where we store the material we need for processing and finally a store with a window in the historic centre of Anghiari”. We visited it and we got the enchantment of a room of wonders, out of time, which communicates love and passion. Get inspired!
How is the country’s tradition of wood and antiques, the scene of a historic and important national exhibition in the spring, progressing in the changes of the modern world? There is a return today to want a beautiful piece, handcrafted and artistic? “It is commonly thought that the new generations are not interested in these styles; Instead, we have had good feedback from young people and new families. In this key, we want to point out that it is possible to restore at affordable prices, reinterpret and renovate the house with taste: a small sideboard to be taken up, the recovery of a wardrobe of poor wood, fir or poplar, cleaned and painted, put in a modern context, can give value, warmth and originality to the furniture”, they add.
The sense is to find the golden measure between modern design and ancient materials and traditional knowledge: “It was useful for us to work alongside famous architects, especially in Milan, who introduced us to certain style adjustments even in antique furniture, for a perfect scenographic and particular rendering”.
Info: F.lli Calli snc di Calli Giulio e Andrea, Via Martiri della Libbia 50/52, Anghiari (Ar) / contatti@callirestauro.com / Tel. 333 8267142 (Andrea) / 328 4689496 (Giulio) / callirestauro.com