So I have been working at Edra now for about three weeks, and it's great, like a big family. We eat together everyday, not the whole company (there are 60 employees and I don't think that there is a restaurant in the area that could fit us all), but in small groups in restaurants and bars around Perignano. Sometimes we eat at work - there is a kitchen and a chef but these are reserved for special occasions. I spend my days working in the development department in the office of Leonardo Volpi, the guy who figures out how to put all of Edra's work into production. Leonardo is an amazing guy, some of the pieces that he has managed to produce over the years here are pretty complex and unusual. On top of this he is really lovely and drives me to work everyday (we both live in Pontedera).
The other people here are great too, Valerio Mazzai is the owner of the company and a very sweet guy, we struggle a little bit to communicate because he speaks very little English and I speak very little Italian, so our conversations usually consist of me meandering my way through what I want to say in Italian. Valerio's two sons are at University, but they spend a lot of time around Edra learning the ropes. They are around my age and on my first weekend here they look me to an Italiano Disco, we have been friends ever since. Massimo Morozzi is the creative director and much of his work is done from his house in the country, but he usually comes into the factory a few times a week to check on things and discuss developments.
On the first day I saw Massimo briefly and he gave me a brief, so I have been spending my days (and nights) developing ideas for him. Hopefully he likes them.
- Trent