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Benheart, high quality leather goods in Florence
With Ben to discover the made in Italy brand that pays great attention to craftsmanship
Sometimes dreams can come true. Ben is well aware of this and after many difficulties has created his own brand of 100% Italian leather products. Ben personally designs, researches materials, follows the entire production chain and monitors his craftsmen so that the final product is impeccable. Each step bears the Made in Italy mark and this is why it has received an important certification from the government attesting to the protection of Made in Italy in the world.
The leathers are all vegetable tanned and worked entirely with natural colours, according to the Tuscan tradition of the past. Great attention is paid to the craftsmanship of the product thanks to the skilful hands of the seamstresses, who make each garment unique thanks to the garment dyeing and the final passage with the brush.
The Benheart company ranks among the Italian excellences in its category. Its great strength is to customise the product according to the customer's needs, producing made-to-measure belts, shoes, bags and jackets, thus guaranteeing the uniqueness and exclusivity of its articles. The shops never lack the cheerfulness, helpfulness and professionalism that Ben conveys to his employees on a daily basis. Let's get to know Ben and his brand better, which has shops all over the world, from Milan to Los Angeles, from Tokyo to Paris, passing also through Florence and Lucca.
BenYours is an intense and emotional story, would you like to tell it?
I was born in a small village in Africa and today I am in Italy, Japan, the United States. I crossed the sea with my mother when I was just 5 years old, then when I was 29 in Italy I collapsed in a football field, only the defibrillator present saved my life. After 7 months in a medically induced coma, I was given a new heart to live again.
How did your integration process go?
There were maybe two foreigners in the whole school, the children and their families helped me a lot, every day I went to some friends' houses. I had a lot of fun, I smiled at everyone and I couldn't help but receive smiles.
His passion for skins also comes from his home country of Fez. When and how did you realise that this passion would become your job?
I was born in Fez, where you can only breathe leather, there are incredible tanneries and an endless mix of colours. So many things in common with my Florence and Tuscany in general, the most important district in the world for leather processing. Here I took my first steps and became passionate about leather, which slowly became my job.
As you mentioned earlier, the 2011 heart transplant changed you radically and Benheart was born. What does it represent for you?
During the most difficult period of my life, I thought about the most beautiful project of my life. While I was waiting for a heart to be reborn, I developed the idea of creating a brand dedicated to all the suffering I had experienced and so it was .
Benheart3 adjectives that identify the essence of his brand
Original, worn, indestructible.
The accessory you think should never be missing from a summer wardrobe
A nice, comfortable shoe. We often think about our whole body without taking care of the most important part, our feet. They are the part we use most every day, they take us wherever we want to go. So a good, comfortable pair of shoes should never be lacking.
Your motto?
Your second skin is our dream!
Boutique Via della Vigna (Florence)
Via della Vigna Nuova, 85r
Boutique Via dei Calzaiuoli (Florence)
Via dei Calzaiuoli, 78r
Benheart Lucca
Via Santa Lucia, 5
