Gennaro & Patrizia
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A NAPOLI NON SI BUTTA NIENTE.
(In Naples, nothing is thrown away.)
The first time I stepped into Gennaro and Patrizia’s workshop, in the heart of the Sanità district, Gennaro said something that stayed with me:
“In Naples, nothing is thrown away.” And it’s true.
Inside, there are two sewing machines and piles of materials waiting for a second life. This is where our bags are made: by reusing fabrics recovered from old shirts, jackets, and trousers once worn by soldiers from the Italian, French, British, German, and U.S. armies.
Gennaro and Patrizia are the kind of people who make you feel at home in seconds. Every visit follows the same ritual: first, coffee. Then a chat about the neighborhood. They know every alley in Sanità, and they always have a story ready, an anecdote, a joke, a memory.
Only after that do we talk about work.
The bags take shape slowly, from materials that have already lived. Each stitch ties past and present together. Nothing is wasted—everything is reused with care and respect.
The first time I visited, I instinctively reached for my wallet to pay before even having a coffee. Gennaro stopped me and said:
“P’ pavà e p’ murì c’ sta semp’ tiemp’.” (There’s always time to pay and to die.)
That line captures their way of life, and, in the end, the spirit of BUAT: valuing people, stories, and materials.
Because in Naples, nothing is ever thrown away.