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Hi! I'm Alessandra, it's 2023

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and when I designed and created the first backpack for me

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I didn't really imagine that I would have a complete collection of backpacks

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The first backpack I sewed with a piece of leather I found at a flea market

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and the need was to create a bag that I could carry on my shoulder to put my pc inside

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It was successful because when I was cycling around Milan with my backpack

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everyone stops me and asks me where I had found it

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This was a bit of a key that allowed me to try to develop a line

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I am a designer, I studied Communication and Communication Design in Milan

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so I actually work in graphics and visual communication

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But my background, especially in my family, has always seen me grappling with fabrics and materials, also because my grandmother was a seamstress

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so I tried to sew my first backpack with a standard sewing machine

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breaking a million needles

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This made me realise that the medium is important

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so I tried to imagine structuring it as a project

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and then I designed the first product

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which I then took to a workshop and asked if they could make it this way

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It was difficult at first because I didn't have a background as a leatherworker

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I used leather in a very different way from how it is usually used

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in the sense that when you make a bag you tend to cut out small pieces and assemble them to have as little waste as possible

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In my case, instead, I use a whole piece of material

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and sew it together as simply as possible

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so with one shape I try to get a container

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and then I add the shoulder straps

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This is 'boom bag'!

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What does that mean? Why 'boom'?

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Because my last name is Botto and it's an ironic pun

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When I made my first backpacks, my brand

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didn't exist yet, so there wasn't really any foresight or real craftsmanship or commitment

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I started carrying my backpacks around in the various markets in Milan

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for example when I was studying in Milan there was the East Market, so I took part in those fairs and found success for my products

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so meeting people again allowed me to pursue my project

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This project was born in 2015 so it's been almost 10 years now

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Today I am in Sarzana, I am no longer in Milan

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I opened a space together with other artisans and freelancers

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but we don't just do this, each of us pursues several projects

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if you want I'll show you more about what it is!

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One important thing I didn't tell you yet is the idea of sustainability behind "boom bag"

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because leather, which is a very valuable material, very difficult and much criticised

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especially nowadays for its production and all that it entails

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both for the issue of animal exploitation and the resources that are used

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But leather is a material that is part of our tradition and our territory

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it has always been produced and I think it is a product that will never fade because it is truly irreplaceable

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What I do is to recover the leather that is discarded at the end of production by the big Brands

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and that is why my collections are very colourful

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because each piece is different from the other although there are now two collections

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one with the first three models I designed

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and the more recent one which has two shoulder backpacks

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In addition to the large pieces there are also small ones like the wallets

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and all the products I have designed I have made for personal needs

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so they are born from a study of practicality and essentiality

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to put the right things in one container

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In this case, aesthetics comes after

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and in the concept of offering something more

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in this welter of products that exist in consumerism

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in my opinion the essential thing is to return to the form-function combination

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which is one of the principles of design studied during my years at university, is best

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"less is more"