DISCLAIMER: I am so excited to share with you the third part of my craftsman project, that I hope to one day complete. I have had the images prepared for a year now, and am just getting to the writing portion of this post. I have the true gift of procrastination. Perhaps I was subconsciously letting this project stay in a “potential” state because I did not want it to come to an end! Or maybe I was busy doing little things called college and life. Either way, I am thrilled to finally publish this post!

This negozio, or shop, was located across one of the campuses of SACI, the art school I attended while in Florence. I passed by this Tipografia shop on my way to my Italian lesson and always caught a glimpse through the windows of this beautiful world of disarray.

I was automatically attracted to the messy, motley display of posters that were taped to the front doors. There was always something occurring inside, every worker was on a mission.

Out of the three shops I photographed (link below), this had to be the most humorous experience. One cold evening, I charged into the shop after class and asked if I could photograph the men and their shop. The owner of the shop was bewildered and answered in Italian, “Here? You want to photograph this?” “Of course!” I answered.

As promised, I entered the shop a few evenings later with my camera in hand. The three men welcomed me in and continued to vigorously work while I played fly on the wall and maneuvered my way into tiny crevices. I was memorized by the rhythmic tempo occurring in the shop. It was obvious to any bystander that each worker new exactly what he had to accomplish that day and he conducted that task with a nonchalant purpose.

There is something so admirable about humans who choose to dedicate their energy to doing a task well, regardless of the amount of times already practiced. There is a sense of loyalty and acceptance. Another element I was infatuated with was the mess. I love it, it is real. The mess was an organized, yet chaotic piece of art just waiting to be captured.

Thank you to the three workers for letting a crazy woman with a camera document your work.

I hope you enjoy this messy masterpiece of a shop!