Gianni and Franco, how pipe holders are born

Gianni and Franco are the same person.

The eclectic man we are talking about is Uncle Gianni, known master watchmaker of Polcenigo .

In the early 50s, the famous “Tony Caldo” (name derived from an innate propensity towards the female gender) chose Borgo di Polcenigo to open the shop “Franco Riparazioni” where with the magic of his hands he brings watches, clocks and sewing machines back to life.

The mustached Uncle Gianni , already well-known and skilled barman and animator of warm nights in the Polcenighese clubs, inherits the art of playing with and against the clock.

For everyone, Gianni was Franco.

Uncle Gianni is Stefano’s uncle and is in the same shop where Tony Caldo and uncle Gianni once worked and where the hand-painted wooden sign is still affixed and intact, which was born and has its headquarters Pipedesign.

We like to imagine it as a magical room where when time played at jamming, two master craftsmen found a way to reinvigorate it and where today creativity continues to take shape in the designs and products Pipedesign .

A small passing bunker in the wonderful streets of one of the most beautiful historic villages in Italy, Polcenigo.

Uncle Gianni loved smoking a pipe and over the years he has collected hundreds of them.

These products are a tribute to him and his ironic and at the same time poetic way of living life.

Whimsical and superstitious like all the greatest artists, silent traveler around the world, unforgettable and significant presence for all those who have known him and who still remember him today.