Frette

I have an old E. Frette & Co. catalogue. I don't know how old it is, but in it there are designs for monograms and ciphers with prices in Lire. I suppose when ordering your household linens from the firm, you picked out the designs you wanted embroidered on you sheets, towels, etc. It is a fabulous source of inspiration and a little peek at the price of embroidery in what I figure to be the early 20th century. I will place a couple of scans of designs throughout the following history of this Italian company which celebrates it's 150th anniversary this year. The prices are preceded by a capital letter "L" and then the price in bold. I wish I knew the date of the catalogue so I could guess at price conversion to today's prices but it's difficult to say - however it seems very little!

In December of 1860 a household linen manufacturer and distributor by the name of Frette, Payre & Chaboud was founded in Grenoble, France situated at the foot of the French Alps.

In 1865 two manufacturing plants were opened in Concorezza, Italy near Monza which produced luxury linens on Jacquard looms. You can see some early 20th centuries photos at the Concorezza Archive website. (clicking on the photos will get more information and bigger photos.) These locations are still active today.

In 1878 the first retail store opened in Milan. It is still there today, located across the street from the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.


Between 1879 and 1881 the firm underwent some restructuring and was renamed E. Frette & Co. becoming also at this time the suppliers of fine linens to the Italian Royal Family and many other noble families, embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to whom they still supply today. New looms called Vicenzi looms were developed which enabled the firm to weave complex Jacquard linen Damask fabric. In 1881 the company took a gold medal at the National Exhibition in Milan for a Jacquard linen picture called La Vega. The work was based on a painting of the first ship to circumnavigate Europe and reach the arctic by Francesco Lietti.

In 1886 the firm started to market outside of Italy and started catalogue sales of their products and 1899 saw the company begin to supply the worlds luxury hotels with linens starting with the Royal Danieli in Venice.

They signed contracts to supply the world's luxury oceanliners in 1911 which included outfitting the dining room on the Titanic. Their linens are still used today on the Orient Express.

After the First World War, E. Frette & Co. was one of only three companies which remained active in Concorezza out of 13 before the war.

In 1926 they started the trend of putting art on their catalogue covers.


They opened stores in London and New York in the 1970s and the late 1980s saw a new line of linens for luxury yachts.

Expansion into Asia started in the late 1990s. The descendants of the company founders ceded ownership to an Italian fashion group and it becomes known as Frette. Into the 2000s the company expanded into silk, brocade, cashmere and fur bedding and opened an online store for the US market. Today it is owned by JHP a San Francisco based company.


2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the company. They held an exhibit in Milan this year until May 2nd which then moved to Singapore for the 2010 Expo. You can see some photos of the exhibit on their Facebook Group.

Shops in Florence

Long ago and far away I wandered the streets of Florence looking in vain for a needlework shop that someone had told me about. Never mind that I didn't have a map, the directions were... go to the Duomo, face the Baptistry, in the left corner of the piazza take the road called Borgo San Lorenzo, it turns into Via de' Ginori... walk until you get to number 23. Well, frustratingly I couldn't find no. 23. The addresses completely skipped over the 20s on the odd numbered side of the street. I never found the shop, though I wandered up and down the street, peering into all the shops that were open. More frustrating was the fact that I had seen some painted canvases with Florentine scenes on them in a window while I was wandering around and thought "oh, I'll come back here on my way back and take a look", but I didn't take note of the address or even the street name so of course I never found my way back. Note to self: don't do that again. If you see something you like, go in right away and look at it because even if you do miraculously find your way back, the shop will inevitably be closed for lunch. Most shops are closed from 1 - 3 pm.

Last year in May, I took one of Vima diMarchi Micheli's fantastic needlework tours of Italy. If you ever get the chance, you should do at least one of these in your lifetime. Vima knows all kinds of interesting shops in Florence... and other cities too! She took us to lots of places but my favourites in Florence were: Casa dei Tessuti in Via dei Pecori, no. 20. What a fabulous fabric shop! Passamaneria Valmar in Via Porta Rossa no. 53. An amazing passamaneria shop with tassels and buttons, and trims and braids and cushions and more! Right next door at no. 51 is Bruno Falugi a store where you can buy needlework fabric and threads and household linens. I went back every day we were there and bought more.

On our own, my roommate and I stumbled across Ricamo e Cucito in Piazza dell'Olio, no. 8. Lots of cross stitch and needlepoint but mostly American and English stuff you've already seen on the internet or in stores at home. They did have some Italian and French patterns which were interesting and some lovely work on display.

With Vima we also visited the Scuola del Cuoio, in the Monastery of Santa Croce, Via S. Giuseppe, no. 5. Breathtaking leatherwork - purses, wallets, home decor stuff like frames and desk accessories, cosmetic accessories holders... just an incredible display. If you go, do not miss the handbag display - each one is an individual creation hand-decorated by a very talented lady.

There are some special places to look at needlework in Florence but I'll save that for another post!

This is one of the hexagonal carvings from the face of the Duomo... now kept inside the museum.