Barbara Spagnol’s career has always been marked
by a keen fascination and deep rapport with what
comes from across the border.
Since 1999 she has handled the Italian distribution of
Antipast, a Japanese brand known for its quality and
creativity. Over the years, through her energy and
initiative, she has built up a solid network for the
product that spans the entire country, singling out the
most prestigious boutiques with which to forge strong
professional ties.
In 2012, after fifteen intense and fruitful years together,
she decided to leave off managing distribution of the
Jamin Puech brand, an innovative Parisian line of
handbags and accessories. This move set her on a path
of seeking out fresh talents and new professional
opportunities. Her constant predilection for working
with sophisticated, artisanal products brought her into
contact with Minä Perhonen, a Japanese stylist with
whom she has begun collaborating on a collection of
accessories, starting in 2013 for the European market.
The experience of working with Benoit Jamin and
Isabelle Puech at Jamin Puech and Junko Jinushi and
Kyoko Kato at Antipast has been a major source of
inspiration, as an ongoing lesson in how to hone in
on details. Opening the Parisian brand’s first Italian
boutique under their supervision, she personally
oversaw both the choice of location and the renovation
of the venue, recreating a little piece of Paris in the heart
of Milan: a space that overflows with the mood and feel
of France.
Parallel to all of this, she went on cultivating a deep
personal interest: interior decoration. She became her
own decorator, collecting objects, furniture and fabrics
from far-flung places, family mementos and souvenirs
of travel, bringing them together to create a harmonious
effect based not on style so much as intimacy.
Each space expresses the magic of everything that is a
source of individual pleasure. Barbara’s homes seem to
smile at you, enfolding you in a delicate embrace that is
full of sunny cheer. Painstakingly designed down to the
last detail, yet never preconceived, they spring from a
natural blend of diverse elements, transcending all
periods and styles. As soon as you walk through the door,
you can feel their warmth: a comforting sense of serenity,
and the same time, the miracle of being in that place.
And yet elsewhere.
