Bolina Sail offers an array of fun and functional fashion and design accessories — but they're not crafted from traditional manufacturing materials. Instead, the brand makes its products out of recycled sailcloth.
All of its offerings are handmade in Italy — in Lignano Sabbiadoro — and don't just bring a unique touch to one's outfit but also promote sustainability.
"The surrounding lagoon inspires us daily through its rich ecosystem and its beautiful landscape," Bolina Sail says on its website, referencing its workshop's atmosphere. "The sea is our world: we want to do our part to reduce man's environmental impact on Earth."
Bolina Sail founder Emanuele Fantin shares more about the Italian brand and its mission with Appetito in this Q&A session:
Can you share Bolina Sail's origin story?
Bolina Sail was born in Lignano Sabbiadoro (a peninsula located between Venice and Trieste) from my passion for the sea.
A friend, who worked as a sailmaker, told me about these big old sails they had in the warehouse that they didn't know how to dispose of, also because the fabrics were very resistant and there were no ways to recycle them (like paper, plastic, glass, or metal).
So I went to the sailmaker and offered to help them dispose of the sails. In this way, I had the first fabrics to start creating our products!
And so, with a sewing machine borrowed from a friend and in the back of another friend's warehouse, the Bolina Sail adventure began.
Where does the name "Bolina Sail" come from?
Bolina translates as “upwind.” It refers to a typical sailing gait where the bow is brought as far as possible in the direction of the wind in order to pick up speed. For those who sail, upwind is the most exciting gait, because the boat seems to be carried away – as if it were suddenly to take off.
Since the beginning, everyone thought we were crazy, for us it was going against the wind, so at "Bolina."
What kind of products does Bolina Sail offer?
We started with bags and small clutches.
Over time we also studied other products to have a more complete collection: backpacks, travel bags, key rings, belts, and even sneakers always made with recycled sails.
What is your production process?
Initially we always created our products differently, to experiment with new things and find out what customers liked.
In recent years we have started to collaborate with some designers from Milan and we have created more uniform collections, while always maintaining the uniqueness of each piece.
The process begins with the recovery of sails from customers, sailmakers, and marinas.
The best parts of the fabrics are then selected and cleaned. At this point the real creative process begins: based on the sail fabric, the products are designed, trying to recover as much as possible of the original details, such as stitching, eyelets, special signs.
We also found a way to print on sails, which allows us to create even more special and customized products for companies.
Tell me about Lignano Sabbiadoro. How does that location lend itself to your business?
Lignano Sabbiadoro is a seaside resort and its district hosts several tourist ports with over 5,000 berths in total, which places it among the largest in Europe.
We are also an hour away from Venice and Trieste, two other seaside cities.
The culture for the sea and the environment here is deeply rooted, and for this reason, this is the best place for our products to be developed.
When people see a Bolina Sail product, what do you hope they think of?
I hope they can think of and understand our commitment: from the recovery of old fabrics, we give a new life to them instead of simply throwing them away, to the desire to do everything by hand, as per the Made in Italy tradition.
Where do you see Bolina Sail going in the next three to five years?
We are working to make our brand known abroad, especially in Europe, USA, and Japan, and we are seeing that there is a good response and appreciation for the way we make our products.
We also want to continue to collaborate with companies, yacht clubs, and associations that ask us for customized products for their events, in order to communicate the importance of recycling and safeguarding our environment.
Please feel free to add anything you'd like.
Our choice to work with upcycling – starting from discarded materials and transforming them into something new – is our way of "going upwind."
For us it is a dynamic yet an exciting challenge, even when the world seems to be going in the opposite direction.
We believe that a change of course is necessary and we feel that mankind is slowly meeting this challenge.
In our own small way, we want to make our contribution.
