Brands made in Florence #2: Madova Glove Factory, the best gloves in town

Brands made in Florence #2: Madova Glove Factory, the best gloves in town

PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

The Donnini family has been producing high-quality hand made gloves since 1919, although their store opened in 1954. Stablished in via Guiccirdini 1R, next to their factory, both located near the Ponte Vecchio, Madova frequent clients are usually Korean, Japanese, American and Italian. The most notorious tiny glove shop in town is carefully designed, with its numerous shelves and drawers, where the gloves are conscientiously packaged and stored, classified by their shapes, sizes, and colors and available for both, men and women. Gloves made with first-class deerskin, lamb, or napa leather, and lined with silk, wool, or cashmere. Being all of them designed and manufactured in-house, some models are simple whilst others are perfect for sophisticated outfits.

Once in the workshop (Piazza Santa Felicita), the patriarch Donnini, who runs the store and the business, shows me carefully the process of making his handmade gloves: the measures, the stretching, the cutting of the leather, the molds … Today, Madova is pleased to be the only store in Europe selling and making exclusively leather gloves. Madova is also proud to keep its traditional family business. Prices vary from EUR30 for a standard pair to EUR180 for a tailor-made pair. The brand has modernized its distribution and the gloves can be also ordered online.


Brands made in Florence #2: Madova Glove Factory, los mejores guantes en la ciudad

La familia Donnini lleva fabricando guantes desde 1919, aunque su tienda abrió sus puertas en 1954 en via Guiccirdini 1R, junto a su taller, ambos situados cerca del Ponte Vecchio. Los clientes frecuentes de Madova suelen ser coreanos, japoneses, estadounidenses e italianos. La diminuta tienda de guantes más notoria de Florencia está repleta de estantes y cajones, donde se almacenan cuidadosamente los guantes, atendiendo a sus formas, tamaños y colores. Se trata de guantes para hombres y mujeres, de cuero de cordero de alta calidad, todos diseñados y fabricados artesanalmente. Algunos modelos son simples; otros son perfectos para outfits de gala.

Una vez en el taller (piazza Santa Felicita), el padre de Silvia Donnini, quien dirige la tienda y el negocio, me muestra atentamente cómo se confeccionan estos guantes artesanales: la toma de las medidas especiales para guantes, el estiramiento de la piel, el corte de la piel a partir de un molde con la medida exacta de los guantes… Hoy en día, Madova se enorgullece de ser la única tienda en Europa que vende y produce solamente guantes de cuero, y de mantener su tradicional y artesanal negocio familiar. Los precios varían de los 30 euros de un sencillo par a los 180 por un par confeccionado a medida. Se aceptan pedidos online.

Author Gravater

Paco Neumann

Paco Neumann is a journalist, photographer, proofreader, flâneur and perpetual amateur currently living in between Florence, Berlin, Paris and Tenerife. He´s been a regular contributor to fashion, art, trend and lifestyle magazines and worked for news, advertising and communication agencies

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