Bottega Veneta is shining a spotlight on the craftsmanship excellence of artisanal workshops with its ‘Bottega for Bottegas’ project. For the initiative’s fourth edition, instead of travelling around the world as it did before, the Italian luxury label is focusing on Venice and its local area. A way for the Italian label, founded in Vicenza in 1966 by artisan Renzo Zengiaro and his associate Michele Taddei, to reconnect with its Veneto roots.

In Italian, bottega means shop, but also a small workshop producing handmade objects, like the one from which the label originated, as Bottega Veneta initially specialised in leather goods and handbags. This year, Bottega Veneta, which was bought by luxury group Kering in 2001, is showcasing six Venetian master artisans, all of them little-known but each with their specific expertise.

The first is Fonderia Artistica Valese, the last foundry still operating in Venice. It produces brass objects such as the winged lion, emblem of Saint Mark, and the fero da próva, the iron bow decoration characteristic of gondolas, with six metal stems, one of the city’s symbols. A second is Signor Blum, a wood crafts company, with its wooden puzzle reproducing the classic Venetian palaces.

Murano’s glass-makers are of course included, with a vase made by Laguna~B, a blown-glass object by Wave Murano Glass, and a starfish made in Bruno Amadi’s Venetian workshop. Finally, playing card producer Modiano, from Trieste, in the eastern corner of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, has created a deck of Trevigiane cards, typical of Veneto.

As part of its year-end initiatives, in December Bottega Veneta will put the accent on these six artisans and their mix of tradition and innovation, on its website, newsletter, advertising spaces and shop windows.