About the Brand
Officina del Poggio is a collection of leather accessories and footwear, founded on the ideals of timelessness, heirloom quality, and artisanal Italian craftsmanship.
After launching in 2014, ODP quickly gained international recognition, stocked by top retailers such as Barneys New York, Moda Operandi, Goop, Rinascente, and presented creative collaborations with LaDoubleJ, Rubelli Venice, and gOOOders. The classic yet understated styles have been favourites of celebrities and fashion icons such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Kelly Rutherford, Sandra Oh, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Arizona Muse, Tamu McPherson, and Doina Ciobanu.
As the brand continues to evolve, the focus is on smaller capsule collections, working with local artisans and collaborations with unique brands in limited production special editions and made-to-order items, ensuring the highest quality products and reducing unnecessary waste.
THE STORY
Allison Hoeltzel Savini grew up on the coast of South Texas, studying music throughout her childhood and moving to Italy after graduate school to work at the Bologna Opera House. A chance encounter with a fashion designer launched her into the world of leather goods, and after a decade developing and managing product lines for international brands, she partnered with her trusted network of artisans to build a collection inspired by classic utilitarian and equestrian bags.
Thus "Officina del Poggio" was born: "officina" means workshop, and "poggio" translates to hills. It is exactly this "workshop in the hills" of Bologna that is home for Allison where she continues to draw inspiration for the ever-evolving collections she creates.
CORE VALUES
Our core values focus on integrity, attention to detail and sustainability, producing our collections in limited production runs with a mindful use of resources, adding to the uniqueness of each piece.
Our design philosophy is to create classic shapes that last beyond trends, We firmly believe that each item added to a wardrobe should be cherished for a lifetime, encouraging a tradition of thoughtful purchasing and less waste.
The leather-goods are crafted by artisans in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany. Each piece bears a “Made in Italy” embossing and is accompanied by a unique numbered certificate, hand-signed by the maker.
SUSTAINABILITY
Through our collaboration with Arizona Muse, we learned that sustainability shouldn’t be about perfection, but progress. We are constantly striving and setting goals to become more sustainable in our daily operations and production:
PACKAGING: In 2019 we moved to completely plastic-free packaging, using paper and boxes from 70% recycled materials. Our new cotton tote dustbags are created from 100% certified organic cotton, and are designed to be re-used either for protective covering when storing items or as a daily shopper.
UPCYCLING: We reduce waste through purchasing off-cuts of fabrics from local mills and also incorporate off-cuts of our own leathers and materials into the production of small leather goods and new items. Remnant scraps are collected and donated to produce regenerated leather.
STAYING LOCAL: We invest in our community by keeping our production and operations local: Through working with Italian artisans and suppliers, we are able to closely monitor the production of our components and final products to ensure that they are produced in a safe workplaces with fair wages. Our photoshoots are done in close proximity to our design offices or production, featuring local models and photographers, eliminating unnecessary travel and production costs.
OUR LEATHER
All of the leathers we use are from tanneries that are certified suppliers of the Leather Working Group, a global multi-stakeholder community committed to building a sustainable future with responsible leather through enforcing best practices and positive social and environmental change for responsible leather production.
The core of our collection features Italian vegetable-tanned leather from Tuscany. The skins come from farms in northern Europe and are tanned in Tuscany using traditional methods passed down generations.
We are proud to work with one of the founding members of the Italian Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium (Il Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale), created to preserve the historic processes of vegetable-tanning and certify that the skins abide by certain standards: no animal is killed just for the skins, and the methods use low-energy and environmentally-friendly practices, such as investing in water depuration systems and waste recycling.