Taf – Tovagliati Artistici Firenze

The Cappellini-Chiti family opened their first shop in 1919, with a solid reputation as artisans of embroidery behind them. Their activity and the luster of their name only grew but was interrupted by the events of the Second World War. The shop reopened in 1954 in the headquarters that it still occupies, a stone’s throw from the Lungarno, rebuilt by Cavalier Luigi Cappellini and his wife Clara. His name: TAF, acronym of Tovaglieria Artistica Firenze.

Since then, Taf products have become renowned all over the world as the highest examples of Florentine hand embroidery. An art whose history has its roots in the very events of the city. In fact, once the secrets of embroidery were kept in the city monasteries, the prerogative of those who led the life of the cloister. Pietro Leopoldo of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, transformed convents into schools where young women could learn the art of embroidery.

Of this art, Taf is the highest example, having supplied, in the course of its history, trousseau to the royal families all over the world, to the wives of heads of state and to the most refined and demanding customers. All the products you find today still exhibited in this artisan workshop are handcreated only with the best Italian materials. Natural fibers, embroidered like once in every detail, light fabrics such as organza and muslin or more classic creations in linen and cotton.

Taf is an authentic guarantee, a place to rediscover the ancient pleasure of owning a valuable kit, created with a care for detail to make each object unique, the product of an ancient art, rooted in tradition. Tablecloths, sheets, lace, centerpieces and wedding dresses take on the charm of a product created not based on fashion but on the basis of a layered wisdom over the centuries, through love and passion for the own vocation.

If you are around Florence and see the window of Taf, don’t be afraid to cross the door and enter a place where time is suspended, stopped in a past made of care and tradition, alien to the dynamics of our world, where every occasion, every minutia are treated to perfection, thanks to a centenary experience.