Tell us a bit more about your background and your current work:

I have a degree in Politics and Middle East Studies–a focus that allowed me to travel extensively in my 20s and live in places like Tangiers, Morocco. In the UK, I specialized in sustainable fashion communication and textile supply chain consultancy for some of fashion’s leading brands. After a brief stint working at Eco-Age, I moved back to Italy in 2020 to work on building my own brand, Casa Parini.

I decided to start with hemp bed sheets because I felt there was a gap in the market for beautiful and sustainable bedding, especially in Europe. The name comes from our first laboratory in Via Parini in Turin, in a space that belonged to my grandfather and where our journey first began in 2021. We decided to partner with a social enterprise that employs migrant women as seamstresses for our first bedding prototypes. Today we have expanded to a second atelier near Florence. My vision is for Casa Parini to become the go-to destination for beautiful sustainable home products. We are already working on expanding our range of textiles and can’t wait to present our new textile experiments in the fall.

Where did your original inspiration for Casa Parini come from?

The inspiration is certainly the incredible textile hemp tradition that we once had in Italy. Until the 50s, Italy was the second largest producer of hemp in the world. I liked the idea of bringing back a product that is part of our textile heritage, but with a more modern twist. Having worked in sustainable fashion back in London for a couple of years and having learned about the negative environmental impact of fibers such as cotton, my vision was to offer an alternative that was just as pleasant to sleep on, but more kind to our planet. I also wanted to create a homeware brand with an aesthetic that speaks to the art, fashion, and design world in a way that perhaps more traditional bedding companies don’t.

Why did you choose to stay in Italy?

I was away for a long time, but chose to come back. Italy is a world leader in highly specialized textile manufacturing. Given the global competition around textile production, supporting local businesses and local know-how was key to my project. Despite Italy’s many challenges, I see value in building a business here and contributing in my small way to the local economy. More generally, Italy’s people, traditions, and landscape are a constant source of inspiration for me and the brand.

What do you see for the future of design in Italy?

The women who cut and sew my bedsheets have been in the business for over 40 years. So the know-how certainly isn’t missing and isn’t going anywhere! What I see changing or at least what I would like to see evolve is the way brands in Italy communicate their incredible heritage and products. This is an aspect that sometimes isn’t valued enough.

In Italy, we have some exceptional bedding companies in the luxury market along with fast-furniture brands like IKEA and Zara Home. I do feel there is space for brands that produce high-quality linens that are desirable, modern, and respectful of people and the planet, that are sold at the right price. With Casa Parini, I am trying to go in this direction.

What are the greatest obstacles and satisfactions that you face working in this country?

Producing in Italy has many quality advantages, but it also means expensive production costs. Furthermore, it is difficult to change people’s perception of hemp as a fabric. It’s unbelievably fresh and soft, which is something that most people don’t know unless they’ve tried hemp linen. With Casa Parini, we are trying to show that hemp isn’t just one of the most Earth-friendly choices one can make in terms of fabric, but that it’s also a dream to sleep on.

[My satisfactions] are the passion and know-how of the people I work with. It’s a pleasure to work with people that have been in the textile business for decades and that really know what they are talking about. I learn something new from my collaborators every day.