In Bologna, Italy, a city known for fusing haughty elegance with down-to-earth grit in one beautifully colonnaded medieval grid, this city has the power to enchant you from miles away. We couldn’t ignore her call like the dummies in the hands of a ventriloquist, we had no choice but to succumb to her pull.
In this city we discovered Alessandra Frontanelli, the creative director of Alessandra Frontanelli accessories, a story of a woman who was in a dark place but never remained down. Alessandra went through a period of heart break, separated from her husband, someone she loved and was very fond of.
“I separated from my husband”, said Alessandra. “I separated from my former husband Massimo that I loved deeply and to whom I was also bound because of our child, Luca. In that period, I dreamed of a two meters high dolphin, with human features. It had beautiful eyes. In the dream, the creature faced me and suggested that everything was going to be all right and I had to keep on being positive despite grief”.
From those dark times she pulled herself up to create one of Italy’s prides. It was those dolphins she saw in her dreams that inspired the design of her logo, because to her it represents her son Luca, his birth and all of his essence. The strong willed lady is passionate about art and designs, as we don’t have to strain our eyes to see how she bathed her pieces in two great passions.
Alessandra Frontanelli accessories are collector’s items, their pieces have been created to last a life time so they can be transferred from one generation to another. Hand made in Florence, she works with the most skilled artisans who use laborious traditional techniques.
Materials are never born to be used in all the ways that artisans manipulate them, it is only those who have been born in the tradition and have the skills. Florence is one of the places you find such gems and it’s easy for most brands who focus on quality, to work with artisans in Florence.
Furthermore, it is not a surprise for Alessandra Frontanelli to manufacture all of her pieces in Florence. One thing I love, is the sourcing of the materials. She has successfully made accessories with the finest materials combined with the best craftsmanship, each unique piece is diabolically simple and impeccably constructed,  a textbook of  example of style through simplicity. Each piece transmits various sensations, maybe because they are made by hand.
Alessandra described each piece as details on a basic wardrobe for a new dandy, a narcissus man, and for a feminine woman of the contemporary elegance. We agree.