My fifth week of class

I cannot remember the last time I did something with such concentration. If you have been following my blog or just look at the timeline of events, you do not need me to tell you that this is a very slow process. I had my moments of thinking, "there is no way I will be able to do this," and now, I cannot imagine my daily routine any other way.

Here are the interiors of the bags. You can see where I attached the magnetic snap closure, with salpa behind it, for reinforcement. I will spare you the details (I know you are not all aspiring handbag designers, after all) but trust me when I tell you that there were many small details between the photos I posted last week and this one. You can also see on my "carta" handwritten notes. These are Italian words and phrases I pick up throughout my day. At the end of the week, I transcribe them into a small notebook I've been carrying around with me.

This is the container that holds the infamous "mastice," glue. Under the blue cap there is a brush that we use to paint the glue onto the pieces. Leave it to the Italians to invent something so specific to get a task done. I had no idea before this how much glue was actually involved in the process. Nearly every seam where you see stitching has glue underneath it. You would never know it, because we have to apply it ever-so-carefully, and then remove any spots where it is visible after the edges are sewn. I officially retired my old container, on the right, for my brand spankin new one. You have no idea how much easier this is going to make my life. Every day would start with me using the "solvente" because my glue was becoming very thick and sticky, since there were cracks in the old container. Ahh.. the little joys in life.

Making the straps took me an entire day to complete, which translates into 6 hours of work. I repeated the process I outlined when I made the "portapassaporto" cases, painting, polishing, and re-painting the edges. These measure 80cm in length (please, do not ask me in inches, I am officially on the Metric system). Just know it's long enough to fit comfortably over your shoulder.

At last, the final product, my very first (three) handbags. I did them in all different weights and thicknesses of leather to feel the difference in constructing and sewing: veg-tanned black, chrome-tanned black, and black suede.

Adventures in Chianti and tales of a European car rental

This is not a postcard.

The highlight of the wonderful week I spent with my mom was our journey into Chianti. We rented a car in the center, and upon the advice of my friends we drove towards Volpaia. There are apparently two Volpaia's in Italy, and of course our little GPS directed us to the "other" one. What you all must first understand is that it is impossible to drive in the historical center of Firenze. They have zones where cars cannot enter unless you have a special pass to do so, and if you do, you risk a heavy fine. Out of fear of crossing into this zone I ended up circling the area around the Cascine (the Florentine version of Central Park) four times, and then ended up on the Autostrada. Upon entering the Autostrada I knew immediately that we were not headed in the right direction, as our trip to Chianti was supposed to consist of winding roads through the countryside, not a 4 lane highway.

For those of you who know me well, you know the story I am about to tell you is very typical me. My friend sent me to have a nice lunch at the Osteria del Volpaia, upon arrival in Volpaia with our stomachs rumbling, we find that everything is closed. Everything. This is, we later learn, a combination of it being "ferie" (holiday, isn't it always) and that high season begins in March, which means everyone is on their own schedule and open when they feel like it.

We drive along into Radda, a medieval village where everything is closed, and stumble upon a restaurant. I run through the open door in desperation and say "aperto?" and this kind young man says, "yes, come in!" My mom points out that the restaurant says closed and that their hours are until 2PM. We arrive at 3:30. He later explains to me that he was having his friends over for lunch and he could not turn my mom and I away at the door. He prepared our meal while he enjoyed his, with his friends. We had eggplant lasagna, filetto di manzo con funghi porcini, and gnocci with gorgonzola - mom's favorite. 
Of course it didn't end there. Creme brulee (we ate it too quickly for it to be photographed but believe me, it was delicious) and left to right: acqua naturale, cafe doppio, Bailey's, Italian grappa, Austrian red grappa, Bailey's, red wine (Chianti, in case I needed to state the obvious!)

We got back into Firenze at 6:50, right before Avis was closing and just before the zone is open to people without permits. I am fairly certain that I crossed into the "zone" at about 6:58PM, but I guess I will find out if and when my Avis bill arrives in the mail.. but knowing the Italians, I am fairly certain I have nothing to worry about.

Morning routine

It's cold here in Firenze. This morning as I set out for my run it was -1 degree Celsius. Right now it has risen to 0 degrees, which is 32 degrees Farenheit. I only converted that one for you because it's easy. While this might seem warm to my fellow New Yorkers, the humidity here is at a constant 60% at the very least, which makes it feel frigid.  And yes, the conversions are just about killing me. I am getting used to it, though. In fact, I have officially joined the camp that believes that the entire world should run on the Metric system.

As I set out across the Ponte Alle Grazie the sun had just begun to rise over the hills.

Running along with the Ponte Vecchio, to my right...

I run over the river and towards the Piazzale Michelangelo. This is about a quarter of the way up.

View from the Piazza. So imagine, every day is the same scenario: me, maybe one other runner who is usually American, and at least three buses full of Japanese tourists. I have no doubt that I make regular appearances in their photos.

This morning I was feeling adventurous so I continued on farther into the hills...

... and farther into the hills

After a bit of downhill action (all the while I am thinking... I need trail runners to do this kind of running), I finally arrived at the Palazzo Pitti...

...and headed home over the Ponte Vecchio. For those of you who either live here or have been to Firenze, you know that the only time you can see the Ponte Vecchio like this is before 9AM. Even at 3AM this bridge is filled with people.

My workout does not end there! Don't forget I live on the top floor of my building, so after climbing 7 flights of stairs with my heart in my hand... I finally arrive home to start my day. This all occurs hours before the Italians have even thought of getting out of bed.

My fourth week of class and "Accidenti!"

First I would like all of you to please note (as if somehow you could've missed this), the new bright green covering on my trincetto. It is magical.. and I like the way it looks. 

Things are getting very technical now, so I will try my best to explain the process to you without intentionally confusing or boring you. What you see in the photo above is the "salpa" for what will become my first handbag, which is a clutch. The curve on the right hand side will wrap around to meet the underside of the straight edge on the left, in an envelope-style.

The first part of this process is cutting the pattern pieces in 2 different thicknesses of "salpa". Black "grosso" which is thick, and regular black.  "Salpa" is not a lining, it is the material on the interior (usually found under the lining) that gives the pieces structure. I had to slice the pieces as you see above according to the markings on the patterns. Then, I had to slice the edges of the curved cuts, "scarnice". This involves holding the (pretty bright green) trincetto at about a 45 degree angle against the marble. I have to create a smooth sloping edge, almost down to zero, which will make the seam where the two pieces of salpa meet almost non-existent. We do this so you do not see these seams through the leather from the outside of the bag. Even though there will be "gomma piuma," (a layer of foam) covering this, these are subtle lines that you will see if you have a trained eye or if you look closely.

I attached the lightweight salpa to the heavy black salpa and removed that band of black that was holding them together. I had to "scarnire" (here's a word that doesn't really exist in English, it's the verb for what I explained to you above) all of the edges where the brown salpa meets the black. Again, we do this so you cannot feel the seam where these pieces meet. Having the lightweight salpa allows the bag to move more freely and fluidly. If it were one piece of black salpa holding the bag together, it would be rigid, and over time the bag would probably fall apart as the salpa would crack or bend due to having too much stress on one continuous piece. These pieces are kind of like hidden joints for the bag. I cut all of the lining and leather for the three bags I will complete in this style, and this is where I left off on Friday.

Class is not just about cutting linings and sewing leather. In the course of four weeks (I know what you are thinking and I also cannot believe I have already been here for a month), I have learned so much more than technical skills. Here are some of this week's highlights.

"Accidenti!"

This is a word that is used very frequently in Italy, especially in the classroom, and I can imagine frequently around any jobs that involve manual labor. This word prompted an hour-long conversation about another word, "intercalare". 

"Accidenti" does not have a definition, it is used either in a sentence among other words or as an exclamation to express some kind of frustration or unexpected result. "Intercalare" means literally "to insert between other things, or to interpose," which is what you do with "accidenti" in conversation. 

Some examples:

I am sewing my samples and the machine suddenly decides to go double speed, causing me to sew too many stitches on a sample. "Accidenti!"

I am complaining about how I finished an entire package of grancereale the day before (grancereale: granola cookies that are officially banned from my apartment) and my professore shows up to class with a package of grancereale to share with the class. "Accidenti!"

I make an appointment with Vodafone at 9AM to fix my internet service and I arrive at the store to find that they open at 10AM. "Accidenti!"

Note: These are all real instances where "accidenti" was used.

Since this is my new favorite word, and it is most frequently heard around the sewing machine, we decided to name the sewing machine we use in the classroom "Acci," short for "Accidenti."

Vini Sfusi

Every day I stumble upon another concept I want to bring back home and for some reason find myself saying, "why doesn't someone do this in NY?" Promise me, fellow readers, that if one of you does this you will at least credit me as your inspiration to do so. And if someone out there knows of a place that does this in the U.S. please let me know. 

There is a small cantina around the corner from my apartment, owned by a charming husband and wife (obviously). They sell "vini sfusi" as well as many other bottled wines from all over Italy. So here is the routine: I bring an empty wine bottle and select my wine(s) from a list of about 30. They bottle wines from Toscana, Piemonte, Trentino, Venezia, Campania, Puglia and Sicilia. They fill the bottle directly from the barrel and cork it. Then they write a nice little hand-written tag and hang it on the bottle with twine.  

So far I've had the Montelpulciano, Montalcino, Nebbiolo, and Nero D'Avola. I cannot choose a favorite, they are all great.

The story doesn't end there. Now that I am a loyal customer, every time I pass them on the street they want to know if I enjoyed the wine I selected the evening before, how the party was... how my chicken dish turned out... if everyone had fun... what's on the menu for the next party... how school is going. Such is life in Italy.

My fourth week of class

Here it is, my very first real object, "portaocchiali," eyeglass case. 

Each case consists of six pieces, two sets of each: pelle (leather), fodera (lining), and gomma (foam interior). These all have separate modelli (patterns). Once I cut the pieces (with the trancetto!) I had to run the leather through the "spaccatrice" which decreases the thickness of the leather. Then I had to use the "scarnatrice" which cuts it even thinner, but only around the perimeter of the entire piece. This prepares the edges of the skin, making it easier to wrap around the fodera.

Next I glue the foam to the lining, only on the corners, and then glue the lining to the leather. While this sounds easy I can assure you that it's not and I made several mistakes. You have to be very careful where you put the mastice (glue). You cannot put too much and you have to put just enough. You just have to instinctively know how much to put, although Mao always does one for me to show me how it's done. If you don't put enough the pieces do not stay together. If you put too much you run the risk of seeing the glue through the leather.

Next step is "rimbocare" which is one of those words that does not have an exact translation in English. It literally means "to wrap the edges". This is the most frequently used word throughout our day. The edges have to be just right, in fact, every corner has to be cut at a 45 degree angle so the edges can be wrapped properly. Not only does the angle of the leather have to be at 45 degrees, but the actual cut itself, the slice with the trincetto, must also be done at this angle. This removes excess bulk that would otherwise be present when you wrap the corners.

I know this might be technical so those of you who can't follow that... just trust me when I say it's a lot of work! And others (hello HD-FUR) will know exactly what I'm talking about. 

These are not quite complete, but I think you get the idea. I stitched down the top, this is the area that will be visible, so the lining inside had to be perfect. I used shoe cream to remove excess mastice (glue) as you will see the lining at the opening of the case. Then, I pulled the loose ends of the "filo" (thread) inside, glued those down, and attached the two completed pieces of the case. Last but not least, I stitched the remaining three sides to complete the porta occhiali. Ten times!

Next project: Porta passaporto. To hold my passport which has my nice shiny pretty little visa (thank you consulate woman, again). I told you things are moving quickly now! This involves a couple of the same steps as the porta occhiali, but I was introduced to some new machines during this process. One machine called the "fustella" is used to cut precise pieces, which I used to cut those small flap pieces you see above. It's kind of like a cookie cutter for leather. Wouldn't life be peachy if you could just put the leather and the lining together and stick it in this machine to do all of the work for you? There are a lot of steps of preparation before taking the pieces to the machine. I had to cut the pattern pieces of the fodera and pelle, and then run the two edges of the flap that will be sewn into a seam through the spaccatrice and scarnitrice so they will sew nicely. Then, I put them in this machine to get a really nice clean cut.

A particular object (borsa/bag, portafoglio/wallet, portaocchiali) will have a metal pattern piece (die) cut for it if it will have a production run. The school makes these cases constantly.

Another new machine I used on this project was the "lattice" which applies a different type of glue. It is more like a spray gun, and it applies an even thin coat of glue. I attached the fodera (lining) to the pelle (leather) that will make up the body of the case with this. This particular design needs to be more flexible as it will be opened and closed frequently, therefore, the glue must also be flexible to enable the movement.

This is where I left off on Friday evening. I am in the process of painting the edges of the flaps that will be visible in the case. Of course, this like anything else, had many stages of preparation. I painted it once with the metal point tool you see on the right, and then had to put the pieces through the "scartatrice" which makes the edges "liscio," smooth. Then I applied another layer of black "pintura" (paint) very carefully, as this stuff is not easy to remove from the leather once it is applied.

Abetone

Abetone: 1940m, vertical drop: 500m, longest run 3.5km. Central Italia, close to Pistoia, part of the Appenine mountain range.

As you can see, blue bird skies... it was a gorgeous day.

Wee... that's me!

Ours don't exactly look like this over on the east coast.

Apres ski Italian style: Birra Moretti and grappa.

My fellow east coast riders, help me out on this one. Does this system exist in the US anywhere? Here, your lift ticket is a magnetic card that you put in an exterior pocket, and you walk up to the gates when you are entering the lift. It automatically scans it and opens it to let you on the lift, which is, by the way, a moving rubber carpet type contraption, instead of piles of slush and ice and a man who has to shovel all day. We do love our lifties, though, so I am not suggesting that we get rid of them.

La casa mia, and laundry day

This is my new building, and behind the two top windows you will find my adorable new apartment. It is a little bit of a climb, but the exercise is great, and the rewards are tons of light and a great rooftop view. Moving in was... interesting. Thankfully, I had a dear friend (thank you, Jordan), to drag my belongings up 7 flights of stairs. Let me take this opportunity to remind you that I sent a duffle, snowboard, and an entire suitcase devoted to just my shoes. And by shoes I mean 2 pairs of motorcycle boots, 3 pairs of brown boots at all different levels of distressing, and 3 or 4 of the chosen pairs of sneakers and then some...

You can see the top of the Duomo from my window.

This perfect "monolocale" came to me by way of a friend of a friend, of a friend. Isn't this always the case in Italy? "Monolocale" is what the Italians call a studio. Mine is a duplex with the bed situated upstairs. There are two small downsides to this. Since I am on the top floor my ceilings are slanted because it's the roof. While this is charming, I cannot stand up straight when I get out of bed without risking a concussion. I have perfected the art of walking with my torso at a 45 degree angle, and sometimes when I am downstairs I find myself doing it there too. Downside number two is the staircase you see in the photo above. 

Of course learning how to maneuver myself to get around my apartment was only one lesson in Italian living. It took me at least 5 days to figure out the light switches, and don't think for a second a day goes by without me accidentally opening the front door to the building while I am trying to turn off my reading lamp. For any of you that have traveled to Italy you know what a treasure hunt it can be to find the light switch, lever or pedal for the sink, and the flusher for the toilet. As you are just about to press the button you are praying to yourself that you are not alerting some emergency fire system... in Austria. Because well, you just would not put it past the Italians to have some kind of foreign alert system set up in the bathroom of the small cafe on your corner. But the light switch probably doesn't work anyway, because the guy who changes the light bulbs is on a semi-permanent lunch break, and the 'bathroom light bulb store' decided to close early today, or doesn't sell light bulbs for the bathroom at all. 

I decided to post photos of laundry day because I think it's funny and it also gives you a tour of my apartment. So much laundry had piled up that upon arrival I was anxious to do it. I was so excited to see my little lavatrice in the bathroom that I did all of my laundry without realizing that I did not have the proper drying racks. 

This is the upstairs, the bed is to the left. Those are my jeans, which took 4 days to dry. Tank tops are averaging 2.5 days, and my sweatshirts should be dry by April.

The drying rack you see is the one and only. Obviously not enough for the amount of laundry I will be doing. The kitchen with the essentials: a bottle of Montelpulciano, and the stove-top coffee maker. And my socks.

Preview to my fourth week of class

I know, I know, I can also not believe I am already on my fourth week of class. This is the preview of what I've been doing. I promise I won't let a week go by without updating you, unless of course something unforeseen happens with my internet service or if I skip town to go snowboarding again... oh right! Abetone. I went snowboarding since you last heard from me. I promise to fill you in shortly.

Bacio from Italia. 

My third week of class

This is a little overdue so I hope you will forgive me. I was without internet service for a few days. Rough, I know, but I survived with snowboard and fashion magazines, my blackberry, and TV Moda - fashion TV in Italian with some blurbs in English. 

In the meantime there are a few things I would like to mention.

1. I received the receipt of my "permesso di soggiorno," which I have been told is pretty much the same as receiving the actual permesso. Of course after the whole ordeal I had to go through with the consulate I was shaking in my boots when I approached the woman at the post office with my application. Mind you, this application was nearly impossible to complete. There were corresponding charts that corresponded to charts that corresponded to tables that corresponded to charts that basically all said the same thing. I filled it out, and like a good little Italian-in-training, I went armed with copies of copies of copies of copies with the original and a sealed original of every document on hand. When I handed in my papers the woman behind the desk asked me "is this your first time appearing here" (giving me a look of... well this is certainly not going to be your last, if it is) to which I responded "yes" and she thumbed through everything, said, "wow, brava, you completed everything perfectly," and after paying 72.40 Euro (where they came up with this number beats me) and 22.30 Euro for the special stamp for the paperwork which you have to obviously buy somewhere else, she handed me a receipt for my permesso. She told me what I had already been told: the permesso (permit to stay) will most likely arrive to my Italian residence after I am already home in the U.S. Of course it will, would I expect any differently?

2. After nearly burning my apartment down twice, I finally learned how to use a stove-top coffee machine. I know this is supposed to be elementary but it really was not easy especially since I couldn't google it. After two pots of dirty water I finally succeeded although the whole canister is permanently covered in white plastic, since the garbage bag melted onto it... yeah. I will leave it at that. It does taste good, though.

After an interesting trip to Vodafone where they made me pay in cash for my internet service, I now have it up and running and am ready to fill you in on my third week of school. Yes, school, remember that? 

This, my friends, is the sewing machine. There are two in the school, and this is more violent than the one upon which I learned. The pretty little samples you see below took me awhile to complete (remember, there are 30 of each model) because every time I put my foot down on the pedal it would go about 100mph. I have to learn how to "pump" the pedal instead of keeping my foot down, which sounds a lot easier than it actually is. Every time I mess up, I laugh uncontrollably and without fail, someone in the class brings me food.. chocolate, a wafter, or cafe, because they know it makes me concentrate. I know how to sew clothing on home and industrial machines but it is very different. I can imagine it to be like driving the same SUV for 10 years and then switching to a sports car... with no brakes.

Almost all of you sent me personal messages expressing concern over the trincetto. Thank you very much for your overwhelming concern but guess what... I had already sliced my finger and I consider it my initiation. You will be happy to know that I came up with a new system to protect my finger. It's a nice little piece of black lambskin and it works wonders. It takes the pressure off and makes the pain a little more bearable.

This was my very first official cut of lambskin for my first official project. What you see is a pattern piece (labelled "pelle" for leather) laid out on the leather and the weight that holds it down while I cut with the trincetto. I promise I will not let another full week go by without filling you in... things are going very quickly now!