Carlo Valle, president and founder of Prestige Mobili, tells his story and the passion that inspired him in the creation of fine luxury Italian furniture.
“The heady scent of wood that inspired my life”
First of all it must be said that the passion for wood, although born at home, was a chance discovery. I am the youngest of four brothers and I spent with them my time after school helping my father to cultivate the land, then the woodwork was not a knowledge passed down from my family.
I was 13 when my older brother began work at a workshop of wooden window frames. And from the lab, he brought home what for me was a heady scent. I was almost ecstatic, so much so that I began to help him in some work.
“I fell in love! That perfume gave, and still gives me, a feeling of well being, a tinge of familiarity, accompanied by warm emotions.”
Entering a room and seeing me in front of a luxury wooden library, well-crafted and bespoke, so high to touch the ceiling, filled with books that can only be reached with a long scale, was something exciting and indescribable. I was surprised and happy at the same time in front of the sight. In one room were mingled the smell of wood and printed paper. The scents of the human history were running after those of the wood, and either the scents of the history of the tree chosen for the characteristics of its fiber, of the expert hands that gave a new shape to it, of the wise processes that made possible the creation of a special, unique piece of furniture.
At 14 I was hired as a shop boy for a classic furniture manufacturer not far from home. There, my passion was able to grow every day, and with it grew my knowledge of woodworking. My dedication and persistence were rewarded when at age of 22 I was appointed Chief Carpenter. I felt momentary embarrassed towards those who had been working for many more years than me, and then rewarded for all the work done sometimes with effort, and always with the heart.
“I did not imagine that something would have soon changed in my life.”
That little company of classic furniture had given me so much, I had been trained and taught to make my passion a real job of which to be proud every day.
In 1989, with two other colleagues, I decided to embark on a new journey. So we rented a warehouse of 600 square meters, notwithstanding the uncertainties and the fears of the inexperience: we were afraid of not being able to comply with the agreements with the owner and that the space was too much for our business.
Fortunately, the opportunities were not slow to appear, and brought new commissions of custom furniture for stores in the province.
“The adventure was just beginning: Prestige was born.”
