It all began with a choice.

At first, I knew very little about upholstery. I had occasionally helped my father with installations and watched him work in the marinas of Genoa and beyond, but I did not yet know how to sew properly, make a template, select the right materials, prepare a quotation or manage a client from beginning to end.

When my father lost his job, I told him: “You have already done so much. Give me your experience and advice, and I will try to build something of my own.” That is how I opened the business.

From then on, I began learning everything: sewing, making templates, understanding materials, preparing quotations, managing income and expenses and, above all, what it truly means to take responsibility for a job.

My father was fundamental, but I tried to learn wherever I could. I studied online, watched videos, observed other companies and listened to people with more experience. I was fortunate: many people saw that I was young and eager to learn and offered advice that I still carry with me today. Each piece of advice added something — another small stone to bring home.

At the beginning, I had very little. Some of our limited savings had to cover overdue rent at home, while I also needed a workshop in order to begin working properly.

I spoke openly with our landlady: “I will give you what I can now. If you trust me, we will settle everything over the course of the year.” She decided to trust me.

Soon afterwards, I spoke to the owner of the workshop. I was equally transparent with him: I could only pay a small deposit and needed time to cover the rest. He trusted me too.

Those people chose to believe in me when I still had very little to show. Their trust became an enormous responsibility.

I still remember those first eleven months very clearly. I worked constantly, and whenever he could, my father came to help, offer advice and simply lift my spirits.

We bought a sewing machine in instalments and worked with what we could afford: a few threads, essential materials and simple tools, very different from what we use today. For several months, I could not even afford a car. Materials, covers and cushions were transported however we could manage. Every journey required planning, and every problem forced us to find a solution.

After around six to eight months, I finally managed to buy a used car. It was nothing special, but it meant a great deal to me: I could reach marinas more easily, carry our work and become more independent.

Little by little, things began to move. One client brought another; one piece of advice improved the next job; one helping hand led to another. In just eleven months, we repaid everyone and everything: the family’s debts, the commitments we had made and the people who had chosen to trust us.

I still consider that moment one of the most important milestones in our story. Not simply because we cleared our debts, but because we kept the promises we had made.

At first, I had to go out and find clients. I left business cards, spoke to people, walked into marinas, introduced myself and simply tried to become known. Part of me is still like that today: I continue to look for opportunities, because I believe a company should never feel that it has arrived.

I still remember one of my first important jobs. A client called, and I immediately went to survey the yacht. He asked for an awning and a bimini. At the time, it felt like an enormous project. I told him I would send the quotation that same day.

The next day, the call came: “I have accepted your quotation.” I was in the car, and I began to cry. Not only because of the value of the project, but because someone had decided to trust me.

Perhaps I earned little on that job — possibly less than I should have. But I did not care then. I wanted to prove that the trust had been well placed. We completed the work, the client was pleased and later entrusted us with more projects.

That was how word of mouth began. One client led to another. One marina led to the next. Project by project, people truly began to know us.

At the beginning, we did not have many resources with which to stand out. We had no prestigious premises, sophisticated equipment or decades of history behind us. What we did have was simple: punctuality, precision, care in our work and respect for our commitments.

One of our company’s most important values grew from this: our word carries weight. When we make a commitment to a client, that promise becomes a responsibility.

Unexpected problems can arise. We may have to work longer than planned, even through the night. We may need to find a solution we do not yet know. But once we have given our word, we do everything we can to keep it.

It is not a slogan. It is how we grew, and it is a principle we want to remain part of the company’s DNA.

Over the years, I began spending more time in boatyards and working alongside professionals from many different trades: joiners, stainless-steel fabricators, pipefitters, electricians, mechanics, composite specialists, teak specialists, maintenance professionals, deckhands and captains.

At first, many saw a young, inexperienced man. Fortunately, that led many of them to offer advice. I have always tried never to waste a single word of it.

Every person left me something: another way to approach a job, a correction, a detail I had overlooked. One piece of advice at a time, my knowledge of the industry grew alongside the company.

Working increasingly in boatyards allowed me to see the yacht as a whole and understand how closely apparently different skills are connected. From that came a larger vision.

Over time, I realised that clients often need more than an upholsterer. They need someone who knows how to listen and guide them.

They may need stainless-steel work, teak maintenance, an awning, a print, embroidery, a repair or an entirely different specialist. This experience gave rise to the project we are building today: a network of specialists coordinated by one company.

We want clients to have a single point of contact from the first call to the end of the project: the brief, survey, quotation, material selection, production and delivery.

I want to continue supervising each project personally, because the way we began — responsibility, care and respect for our word — must remain present even when a job involves other professionals.

We do not want to be simply an upholstery workshop. We want to create a company that brings together marine upholstery, interior and automotive upholstery, awnings and outdoor spaces, and other services that will grow with our experience and the people who join the project. This is our idea of Yacht Services.

Today, that small business begun with very little has reached a new milestone. On 12 September 2026, we will open our new space of approximately 115 square metres.

It will be more than a shop. We want it to be a place where clients can tell us about an idea, see and feel materials, compare fabrics and understand how their project will take shape.

One area will be dedicated to displays and consultation. Behind it, the place where everything began will remain alive: the workshop.

For us, this is a major milestone — and, above all, a new starting point.

One of the greatest differences from the beginning is that today I am no longer alone. Ilaria handles the first contact with clients and coordinates enquiries. Lorenzo, an old school friend who has already gained experience in the sector, will join the team permanently. My partner also works with the business.

External professionals and specialists are helping this idea grow larger. In time, new faces and new expertise will join us.

What we want to build must not grow around one person. It must grow around a team.

There is something else I carry with me from the Academy of Fine Arts: a particular way of observing things.

To me, a piece of work should not only be technically correct. It can also be beautiful, distinctive and personal.

A seam, a form, a detail, a combination of materials or a solution designed specifically for one yacht can turn functional work into something that genuinely belongs to the client.

We do not want simply to repeat what has already been done. We want to listen to what the client imagines and, whenever possible, turn it into something of their own.

We do not have fifty years of history, and we do not pretend that we do. What we can tell is what we have genuinely experienced.

We began with very little: a simple workshop, a sewing machine, my father’s experience and a few people who chose to trust us when we still had little to show.

We learned. We made mistakes. We listened. We worked. We invested. We grew. Today, we are trying to build something that, when we began, we probably could not even have imagined.

We do not yet know where we will arrive. But we know exactly where we started. One step at a time. One project at a time. One piece of advice at a time. One small stone at a time.

We continue with the same principle with which everything began: if someone chooses to trust us, we will do everything we can to deserve that trust.