ERNESTO CONTESSA

Good morning, it's never easy to talk about yourself and even less to write it. I am an upholsterer craftsman in love with what this profession has given me in these 45 years of work which can be summed up in the words of Confucius:

"If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life."

I started this profession at a young age, and it was love at first sight, a continuous desire to grow, continuous research, continuous learning that led me to understand that there is always a lot to learn.

Today, on the threshold of my 60 years, I live with some more awareness; the frenzy of the productive world is increasingly distant and the desire to transmit, to talk about this ancient profession, to make others experience these emotions is growing.

Man has woven plant and animal fibers since prehistoric times,

initially due to the need to protect himself from the cold and then to improve his life.

The concept of comfort has pervaded every historical era, influencing styles and trends; a continuous research that cannot stop, a concept aimed at improving our living, our looking, our being.

In this profession there are no limits to ideas.

The Upholsterer has the ability to blend together a myriad of materials; each with its own history and culture.

Fabrics, leather, wood, padding, steel, glass....

You can use: colors and shapes to create artefacts that will be the fruit of what you are, of what your mind and your heart has thought and, passing through your hands you can make it happen.

We can summarize these concepts with the words of Robert Baden Powell who in my opinion is the essence of the artisan man:

“Do today a little better than what was done yesterday.”

Upholstery envelops us in everyday life, from the light that enters our home filtered by a curtain, to every seat we encounter during the day. If we look around we find: cushions, padding, springs, sun protection, nautical, aeronautical, automotive....

Our daily life is wrapped in padded artefacts; covered in fabric or leather.

Upholstery is our second skin, which envelops us immediately after the dress we wear, even before the house itself which is the shell that encloses a large part of our life.

Let's go back to the shop and who they are:

I am One, who with great willpower worked following his instinct, without ever giving up with tenacity, often defined as: "a hard head".

I love living my profession.

Today I live happily in one of those shops where history, culture and experiences meet, blend into the artefacts that arise from the needs and collaborations that I have established over the years; nothing is taken for granted and nothing is impossible.

It all starts from listening to specific thoughts and needs that must become artefacts.

Creating something new, beautiful and well-made every day is my daily goal, be it a curtain, a bed, an armchair or a seat, an artefact that becomes functional and... history tomorrow.

This is my job, the job that I love and that I try to do in every moment of my day, naturally a passion does not stop within the walls of the shop, on the contrary, it must be brought and shared with those like me who live the profession; open to discussion, to active commitment in the world of volunteering and teaching.

I am often asked what the secret is of such passion which they say can be read in my eyes and in my words, the answer is simple:

always be curious, always try to be hungry to understand and know, never stop, listen to yourself and carry forward what you feel, in every moment of your life, fight, often in your silence, with your silent tears. Always pursue your goals, especially when things are difficult and seem insurmountable. Never settle, always be searching, aware that there is always room for improvement.

Pursue in your life the beauty and the well-made that lives within you.