Le Buranelle and the bizarre story behind our virtual meeting give us the opportunity to talk about the always splendid Venice in a slightly less banal and obvious way.
Venice one step from Puglia
Let’s start from Venice in order to tell the story of a brand that could only be born in this city, one of the most beautiful and mysterious in Italy, of which everything has already been said and written. Always a place of exchanges and encounters between different cultures and traditions, when you think of Venice, colors, fabrics, perfumes come to mind, because the Serenissima has been a center of traders and artisans since ancient times, united by the love for the beautiful.
But not everyone knows the secrets of the most unique city in the world, starting from the fact that Venice is not “made of earth”, but rests on millions of wooden poles stuck at the bottom of the sea and covered with wooden boards which are themselves covered. of mud. On all this houses and roads are built that make the 116 islands of the Lagoon communicate with each other. So the entire city rests on small portions of land but also on stilts that despite the centuries hold up very well because the mud has protected them from any type of water corrosion and bacterial aggression.
Certainly better known is the fact that the city is divided into six districts which are symbolically represented by the six front teeth of the gondola’s iron, the typical front decoration of these boats. We also talked about it as well as the roof terraces that can be seen on the roofs of many buildings, the wooden terraces used for drying clothes, but also by the Venetian blinds for sunbathing and lightening your hair.
This incipit, which allowed us to tell once again about one of our favorite cities, anticipates the presentation of Le Buranelle, an artisan brand that was born in the wake of the footwear manufacturing tradition, which, as is well known, has deep roots in Venice: in fact, evidence of guilds of “calegheri” and zavatteri” (cobblers and shomakers) as early as the end of 1200.
Le Buranelle wanted to maintain the love for beauty, the patience of detail, the extravagance of colors in an experience that comes to life from the great passion for fashion of Orsola, Venetian by birth, a doctorate in philosophy, an immoderate love for fabrics, for buttons, for materials.
We asked her how the idea of creating Le Buranelle was born. She answered thus: “I live with my partner in Murano, and it is in fact from the island of the glitter of glass, from the desolation of the lockdown, from our endless walks among the surprising colors of the neighboring islands, between lace and fishermen’s nets, which kicks off the magical journey of Le Buranelle. Between calli and motionless islands, empty, among the echoes of long gone tourists in a time of pandemic, between incandescent sunsets and the scent of hanging laundry”.
And in Burano, a super colorful and fairytale island, the slippers that Orsola creates in which straw sole and colored scraps wrap every sure step towards a desire are inspired. The strong one especially now of changing pace, feeling (and staying) at home as much as possible, but in the company of colors, flowers, fruits, which give joy, as can a family hug that recalls the scent of freshly baked cookies.
Like the Bussolai Buranei, the typical donut-shaped sweets of the island, also known by the name of buranelli, which the sailors’ wives prepared for their husbands and who perfumed and made greedy the box in which the my colorful Buranelle, inspired by the majolica of Vietri sul Mare, are arrived at home.
Each pair is a unique piece that tells a story and mine create an ideal travel itinerary between the Venice Lagoon with the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri.
Each slipper is unrepeatable and simple at the same time, personalized and suitable for everyone, but at the same time whimsical and essential. And, as Orsola and her sisters Ester Maria and Rosa Chiara point out in unison, they are imperfect like all beautiful things. Le Buranelle are the fruit of their complicity because Orsola considers her sisters to be her “thermometer” of satisfaction. She explains: “they are fashion lovers and with an innate good taste. They are the ones who sift ideas, discuss ideas and new initiatives with me, and take care of all that part relating to communication and sharing in which I, I admit, am a real landslide”– adds Orsola.
The winning idea is precisely this, a small dream born in the family, which wants to recall and make this daily dimension tangible: embroidery, hand stitching, breaks, chatter, packaging.
Today, Le Buranelle’s business is focused on two products, the slippers and the “Demi-Vintage” collection of small jewels made with original buttons and Murano glass. The “Baguette Magique” has recently been added, an idea that will meet the needs of many women … What is it about? On the occasion of a ceremony or an evening out, heels are indispensable, but sooner or later, the moment comes when we would all just want to stick our feet in an ice bucket … how nice it would be to be able to wear a slipper without giving up to the class? Here is that the pochettina containing “Le Buranelle” unrolls, becoming a comfortable coordinated shopper in which to insert the uncomfortable high-heeled shoes … Et voilà, the magic is done!
At this point we just have to tell you the most incredible part of the story. With Orsola and her project we met online and we started “chatting”. Then the discovery: her partner’s family is originally from Conversano so she also often comes to our city. A very strange coincidence that made us promise that the next time they go down to Puglia we will meet to get to know each other in person!
Le Buranelle
Instagram: Le Buranelle
Info: +39 340 3214380
