DA A ITALIA - FROM ITALY WITH LOVE
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Each week we give you a behind the scenes look into the people places and cultures that inspire our brand. Travel is a key part of why we love our company so much as we get to work with artisans from all over the world while eating and sleeping our way throughs the countries we visit for work and pleasure.
This week we introduce to Bruna who is located in the city of our new home Lecce, Italy which is often referred to as the Florence of Southern Italy.
When You Meet a True Artist—Inside and Out
There are moments in life—rare, electric moments—when you meet someone and instantly recognize a kindred spirit. A true artist. Not only in what they create, but in how they move through the world. Bruna, the mind and soul behind da a Italia, is exactly that.
Our paths crossed in Italy after a three-week whirlwind: filming our TV makeover show, spending an intensive week at our factory in Venice, and juggling the ongoing transformation of our palazzo. Add to that Christmas dinner parties, impromptu dance parties, and the beautiful chaos that comes with creative lives colliding—and then, suddenly, Bruna appeared.
Within five minutes of meeting her, she smiled and said, “You must come to my factory tomorrow.” That’s how energy works when it recognizes itself.
The next day, we drove south about 35 minutes, arriving in a stark industrial district—bare, quiet, almost severe. On one unassuming door: just two letters. DA A. No signage. No theatrics. Just confidence.
Bruna opened the door dressed effortlessly chic—sweatshirt, black jeans, knee-high boots—radiating warmth. Her smile was the first hint that what awaited inside would be anything but ordinary.
And then the surprises unfolded.
Her husband, whose company manufactures heavy machinery components for Caterpillar, unknowingly became the foundation of her creative laboratory. Metal scraps—industrial remnants destined for discard—were gifted to Bruna. Where others saw waste, she saw possibility. From that raw material, she created Molten Gold: a line of exquisite furniture that feels at once alchemical and architectural, rugged and impossibly refined.
Walking through the factory was like witnessing transformation in real time—industrial grit transmuted into poetry. Every piece carried weight, intention, and soul. Nothing was decorative for decoration’s sake. This was furniture with a heartbeat.
Only later did we realize just how quietly influential Bruna’s work has become. Without hype, without noise, 34 of the top design Instagram accounts we follow all follow her. The tastemakers. The editors. The designers. The ones who know. That kind of recognition can’t be manufactured—it’s earned through authenticity.
Meeting Bruna reminded us why we do what we do. Why craftsmanship matters. Why process is sacred. Why true artists don’t chase attention—attention finds them.
Some people design beautiful objects. Others design lives filled with beauty, generosity, and courage. After the tour of her factory—after the machinery, the metal, the alchemy—Bruna did what only someone who truly lives their art would do: she invited us to dinner.
Her apartment, a gift from the gods, felt less like a residence and more like a living installation. At its heart was a dining table that seemed to go on for miles, stretching endlessly, almost mythically, through the space. It was exquisitely set—every detail considered, every object in quiet conversation with the next—prepared perfectly for what felt like our own Last Supper.
There was something profoundly moving about sitting there. Not staged. Not performative. Just deeply intentional. The kind of table where stories unfold, where laughter lingers, where time slows down. A table that doesn’t just host dinner—but bears witness.
It is extraordinarily rare to meet a designer who doesn’t switch the art off when the workday ends. Someone whose creativity doesn’t stop at the factory door, the sketch, or the finished piece. Bruna embodies art in every facet of her life—how she works, how she hosts, how she gathers people, how she gives.
That night, surrounded by beauty, generosity, and conversation, it became clear: this is what it means to live a designed life. Not perfection—but intention. Not excess—but soul.
And once again, Italy reminded us that the greatest luxury of all is not an object—but the people whose energy, vision, and humanity transform everything they touch.
MERRRY XMAS
MICHOU
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