The Exquisite Art of Writing
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FAMILY BUSINESS THIS PAGE: Montegrappa’s limited edition Animalia fountain pen (2004), with animals etched by hand. OPPOSITE: the northern Italian town of Bassano del Grappa, where Montegrappa has its factory on the bank of the River Brenta The Exquisite Art of Writing The third generation of his family to head Italian pen makers Montegrappa, Giuseppe Aquila is defying the digital age with fountain pens that can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Here, he reveals his winning formula for a company steeped in heritage By Mark C O’Flaherty Photography by Julian Anderson 40-41 • WERTE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY BUSINESS OPPOSITE: From left: Gianfranco Aquila, Chairman of Montegrappa; hand-etched barrels. THIS PAGE: Clockwise from above left: crafting the Ernest Hemingway The Soldier pen (2016); pen rods made of celluloid colored with pigment; the town’s 13th-century bridge spanning the river Handling one of the most perfect, remarkably designed ink pens on shoots, the social media and the influencer marketing campaigns for the planet is a particularly emotional experience. Montegrappa, an the brand. This is how a heritage brand stays successful in the Italian, family-owned company founded in 1912, creates work that 21st century. “I filter every graphic and all the photographic work for elevates the experience to peerless levels. And business is booming. Montegrappa with the visual aesthetic I believe represents the The picturesque town of Bassano del Grappa, where Montegrappa brand and our values,” Diana explains. “At times, I get in touch with is based, is just over an hour inland from Venice, in a region well influencers personally; other times, we rely on specialized agencies. known for its fine craft in silver and goldsmithing. Montegrappa There’s not a specific target influencer for us – what inspires me shares many similarities with those industries. The ingrained is a creative personality and good taste.” culture of the local craftsmanship aside, most of the products the Diana, along with other members of the family, also offers ideas company produces are made in sterling silver or solid gold. for future designs, but the main creative direction originates with Montegrappa’s narrative arc over the past 20 years has been as Giuseppe. “I am the conceptualizer,” he says. “I come up with the florid as calligraphy. Today, things are headed up by 49-year-old majority of the ideas for new designs, and then I work with our Giuseppe Aquila, who joined the business in 1992 to work alongside designers on the engineering. Research and development are big his father Gianfranco. Annual turnover stands at $17 million areas of our business: we are always experimenting with new (€15.1 million), with a minimum of 10 percent growth each year for technology, techniques and materials.” the past decade, while the company’s key markets are the US, the Today, Montegrappa combines state-of-the-art technology at its Middle East and its home territory of Italy. Veneto factory with the expertise of 55 full-time craftsmen. And the Giuseppe works at the HQ with his father, who is the company's company’s contemporary business model relies on the skills of those Chairman and takes care of finance, his mother Diana, who is individuals more than any high-tech sorcery. “There are many luxury actively involved in production and quality control, and his daughter, pen makers,” says Giuseppe, “but we employ entirely unique materials, also Diana, 26, futureproofing a business that thrives despite being manufacturing processes and techniques. We use a lot of etching, – to all intents and purposes – an anachronism, though a captivating painting, low-relief engraving and enameling. All of it is done by hand.” one. “I’ve always loved this world. We all do,” he says. “My grandfather The biggest twist in the way Montegrappa operates took place loved the company because he was a chemist, and was so fascinated during the year Giuseppe committed to working in the family by pens that he made his own inks. He asked the people at [local pen makers] Elmo to make pens for him under his own name. The family that owned the company didn’t have children, which is part of the “My grandfather loved the reason we ended up taking it over.” Giuseppe has fond memories of his parents walking him to the factory as a child, and spending company because he was a whole days immersed in the culture of it: “They would get me to do chemist, and was so fascinated by little jobs, like put the springs in the ballpoint pens.” Giuseppe’s daughter’s role would not have existed when his pens that he made his own inks” parents ran the factory – she is a fashion stylist who directs all the Giuseppe Aquila, CEO, Montegrappa 42-43 • WERTE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY BUSINESS “Because of the tradition of LEFT: the view towards families working with gold and the mountains from Bassano del Grappa. ABOVE: Diana silver in the Vicenza Province, Aquila, daughter of Giuseppe, who looks after that kind of craft is in the DNA Montegrappa’s social media of the people who live here” business full time. It was when, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the company in 1992, they first proposed to create a limited-edition sterling silver pen. A total of 1,912 pieces were produced, with highly ornate and precise leaf patterns detailed on each facet of the body and cap. This limited-edition business model is now responsible for 54 percent of the company’s sales. Consider the parallels with the art and fine furniture markets. If merchandising and industrially produced mass-market furniture generate a certain profit margin at a certain volume, then, for example, a limited edition of silkscreens, or an edition chair by Marc Newson, represents a different kind of business model – one that relies on far fewer customers with an infinitely higher single spend. You can buy a Montegrappa Parola ballpoint for the same price as a pair of Nike trainers, but you can also sign up to pre-order one of the 500 Leonardo Da Vinci 500th Anniversary fountain or rollerball pens from the Genio Creativo series, finished in brass and olive wood, with a marvelous machine-inspired graphic lid, for over 20 times as much. “For the limited editions, the sky is the limit,” says Giuseppe. “We have some solid gold limited editions of the Samurai design that retail for $146,000 (€130,000).” If these limited editions represent the core of the business, customization is something that is growing fast. Many clients opt for what Montegrappa calls Extra Bespoke. “We are already able to customize pens with our online configurator ordering [system], via 200,000 possible combinations. But when we are talking about Extra Bespoke, our craftsmen hand-paint or engrave an image from a client on the barrel.” Then there is the Arte model, aimed at collectors of fine art: “Someone will provide us with an image of an artwork they own, and one of our artists will reproduce it on their pen, using just the naked eye and a brush. It takes about three months to finish.” Giuseppe had grown up, as the family joke goes, with “ink in his blood”. His grandfather, Leopoldo Tullio Aquila, was a stationery merchant. Ever since the 1930s, he had worked closely with the 44-45 • WERTE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY BUSINESS THIS PAGE: From top: Giuseppe Aquila, CEO of Montegrappa; an unfinished elaborate cap for the Lord of the Rings design (2019). OPPOSITE: Bassano del Grappa; a hand-painted pen cap replicating work by the painter Giovanni Boldini local pen manufacturer Elmo. Leopoldo was a close friend of the color pigment – which can include mother-of-pearl – is introduced brand’s founders Alessandro Marzotto and Edwige Hoffmann. into it. The paste is baked in a tray for a whole year, and only then can When Giuseppe’s father Gianfranco bought Elmo in 1981 – having the craftsmen start to process it for use, cutting it into round rods long since established himself as its largest customer – it took the before drilling. Apparently, the material is so durable it will not name of Montegrappa. shatter if it is thrown from the top of the Empire State Building. Under the exclusive auspices of the Aquila family, the brand “When we work on the launch of a new color in celluloid, it takes made serious inroads into a new luxury market for pen craft. So three years before we can actually make the pen,” says Giuseppe. much so that it attracted the attention of Richemont, which counts “But it’s like a good wine – you have to wait.” Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc as part of its global Montegrappa has a long list of loyal customers who are prepared portfolio of luxury brands. In 2000, Montegrappa joined that portfolio. to pre-order and wait. When each new limited edition is ready for Then in 2009, the Aquila family took it back with the assistance of sale, 60 to 70 percent of the pens are already spoken for. And close friends and investors, who included the actor Sylvester Stallone the secondary market is buoyant. The first limited editions from the and Formula One driver Jean Alesi. The culture of the company Dragon series, launched in 1995, have increased five times in value. changed instantly, and with it came a new focus and purpose. While the Dragon pens come with auction estimates of $35,000 “We wanted to stay away from industrialization,” says Giuseppe. to $50,000 (€31,000 to €44,000), they cannot compare with the “We wanted to take things back to the original spirit and develop Montegrappa-made, Tibaldi-branded Fulgor Nocturnus, which sold limited editions and bespoke products.