“If you live in an extraordinary place, nothing you do can be ordinary”
A forty-five- year start-up. This is how Nicola Del Din, Chief Executive Officer of Pramaor described his firm, turning over 6.2 million euro in 2015 and up +32% in the first half-year of 2016. Founded in 1971 by his mother Maria Luisa Pramaor, the company today stands out as a beacon of excellence in the international eyewear industry, setting the benchmark for local entrepreneurs.
A wealth of experience combined with all the energy and freshness of a start-up were the decisive factors leading the firm, some years ago, to pour all its efforts to its own brand Blackfin. This winning strategy, backed by in-depth knowledge of the eyewear market and precisely targeted brand positioning was undertaken in 2013 accompanied by highly effective storytelling.
The company’s 45 th birthday is celebrated by the opening of a brand new HQ in Taibon Agordino, in the Italian Province of Belluno, sending a strong signal to the industry that it is still possible to produce top-quality eyewear entirely in Italy.
The opening ceremony took place on Friday, 1st of July, attended by local government representatives, employees, business partners and friends of the company.
Silvia Tormen, Mayor of Taibon Agordino, praised the company with these words: “You have the ability to look to tomorrow, making it become the present. It is a great honour having you in Taibon because you are a fine model and I hope that all our local businesses, regardless of the sector in which they operate, manage to share your vision and approach that drives you forward while keeping your roots firmly planted here.”
Giancarlo Recchia, Chief Financial Officer of the company, recalled: “When I first met Nicola Del Din I realised that I had a great talent before, and I was surprised and happy to be the first one to really understand him. With Nicola I took on this challenge that we have carried forward, daring to disobey! As Professor Alberto Felice De Toni said, innovation is disobedience that turns out well, and thanks above all to the skills and determination of Nicola, we have become what you see today, never forgetting that if you don’t attempt the impossible, you will never achieve even the possible!”
The original building has been extended to house the 60 employees in a working environment portraying the image of what, for Nicola Del Din, is the true representation of the neomadeinitaly concept, an innovative way of thinking and working. This is a rigorously Italian production model, caring not only about the product but also about the people who produce it. This is an approach marked by passion, dedication, respect and care for the staff and the environment in which they work, never losing sight of the inestimable value the comes from being Italian and living in one of the most scenic corners of that nation.
The ground floor is home to reception, stores and the dispatch department, as well as to some friendly social spaces created to reflect an international approach to the working environment. The production department with its various processing units is on the first floor. The all-new second floor houses the offices and management suite.
The care lavished on Blackfin eyewear is also evident in these environments, brilliantly designed down to the last detail to create comfortable places also able to accommodate the most innovative high-tech solutions worthy of a multi-national operation.
The aim of the designer, architect Nicola de Pellegrini and his Anidride Design studio, is to highlight the image of the Blackfin brand, the perfect blend of pure design and absolute innovation, while also cementing that close bond with the context it inhabits. The ample glass windows symbolise the bridge between the interior and exterior, with a view over the glorious Dolomite landscape that acts as a source of inspiration for everything that is conceived and created inside the building.
The preeminent shade is grey, the brand colour, teamed with such natural elements as wood, stone and grass, in a recurring pattern that creates continuity with the mountain environment. This first element is used for the shelving and the huge 6m table in the meeting room, the second is seen in the stone flooring slabs extracted from the Il Casone quarry, the setting for one of Blackfin’s first advertising campaigns. Finally, a vertical meadow on the walls, its simple, uncluttered decorative beauty reminiscent of nature’s designs.
The ceiling recalls the architectural style of the stand that won Blackfin the Bestand prize at Mido 2015, its covering made up of 100 triangles of perforated metal, shards of sheet metal that appear at one with the structure, creating a truly original three-dimensional piece of installation art.
“Our building reflects our values: technology and tradition, modernity and history, style and design. Pride in the all-Italian.” – says Nicola Del Din.
The interior design is the result of the partnership between Blackfin and LAGO, sector leader in the production of furniture and fittings and in holistic design for all living areas. This high-quality design creates a resonance between spaces and people, favouring both the individual and common wellbeing.
“When I got to know Daniele Lago, owner of the furniture and fittings company after whom it is named, I got an immediate feeling” – recalls Nicola Del Din enthusiastically – "I could see, right from the start, that we shared the same entrepreneurial vision based on an approach to design that is not an end in itself but that is centred around people, first and foremost those who work in our business, giving our products shape and value and who are the true architects of success”.
Outside resides the extraordinary beauty of the Dolomites, inside an ultra-modern working environment has strong international connotations.
“Although we are a small Italian company, we need to display a multi-national mentality” – continues Del Din. “Every morning when each one of us crosses the threshold of the company we need to be able to feel we are in an international experience in which we know we are being listened to. Then, in the evening, we are able to enjoy the reassuring beauty of our own family environment. All this is really possible for us, simply summed up in what we call NEOMADEINITALY”.
