G2 Tessuti Iannuzzi

On Tuesday we left for our trip to Florence for four days. The bus ride to Florence was truly an experience in itself. The view was spectacular with all of the rolling hills and the little neighborhoods tucked into the sides of them. I attempted to capture the beautiful scenery but the pictures barely do the breath taking views justice.

View of the hills and tunnel

Views from the bus on our way to Florence

On our way to Florence, we had an appointment at the G2 Tessuti Iannuzzi factory. We were greeted by three employees of the factory that graciously showed us around their company. G2 supplies textiles to some of the top names in fashion. They had hundreds of fabric samples hung on racks for us to touch and observe. One fact that I found particularly interesting was that only 5-10% of the fabrics they design, go into production. I was also surprised at how personal of an industry it was, due to the growth in technology. One of the agents we were speaking to said that all of his work is face to face (because they still need to see and touch the fabric) and it is all about building relationships with his clients. All of the fabrics that they created were made in Italy. After we got to learn more about how the company operates, we were shown where the fabrics were designed and produced. It was amazing to see how their fabrics were designed on a computer that could then be sent right to the looms to be put into production. I have learned in many of my classes about how the looms operate but it all came together when I got to see the loom turned yarn into beautiful fabric in person.

-Racks of fabric samples

-Rolls of fabric

-The loom in the process of weaving the fabric

After we left the G2 factory in Prato, it was a short 30 minute ride to Florence. As we pulled into the city, the streets where lined with gorgeous green trees, and we say a flowing river to our left. Once we reached the hotel, we had some time to explore the city before our second group dinner. As we started walking down the street from the hotel, we were met with the most picturesque view. I immediately fell in love with Florence.

-View of Florence!