When DIECIDECIMI opened to the public on May 21, 1981, I wasn’t there.
However, I met the person who strongly wanted it, pursuing the dream of creating a boutique that, in addition to providing perfect eyewear to see the world change, was also a testament to the beauty of the sales environment, the color balance, the materials, the warmth of the welcome, the quality of service and products.
Luciano Falzone, whom I had the good fortune to meet and cross, even if for too short a time, was an extraordinary person, son of his time and of a world in which things moved with the strength of oneself and one’s own will. Luciano has always been an attentive and meticulous guardian behind the scenes of DIECIDECIMI, entrusted instead to his partner Angelo Micheli and Mrs. Bianca Ferrari, who for thirty years have carried on an activity faithful to its original premises and promises, projecting the ideals of beauty, efficiency, precision and service into the future of a sector undergoing rapid change.
When in 2010 the destiny of DIECIDECIMI knocked on my door it took me by surprise and as in the most beautiful stories it kidnapped me, body and soul.
I was used to the work life made up of hours that end and give you back a life waiting for Monday morning. A safe but often flat life because it is possible to glimpse beautiful destinations but the reality returns gray days spent waiting to find a meaning to the efforts of each day. It wasn’t my place and I didn’t know it with the clarity of today and yet with enough recklessness I jumped off a slow but safe train and jumped on the fast one with an unknown destination that around the bend entered a dark and long tunnel.
My first 10 years at DIECIDECIMI were not easy, but today I’m here to celebrate the 40th birthday of this wonderful “woman” who is proud of all her wrinkles that give her charm and vision of the future.
DIECIDECIMI today presents itself to the eyes of those who observe it exactly as it did on May 21, 1981, it has gone through the revolutions of an industry that is no longer like before and the rhythms of an eternally dynamic city that renews itself by reiterating its temper after every crisis. I’ve learned so much from every customer, every colleague, every supplier, every agent, every friend I’ve met along the way and it’s thanks to all of them that DIECIDECIMI is here today. My father was not an optician but a mechanic with the gift of simplicity in his deft hands and the entrepreneurial spirit I inherited. Every difficult moment dissolved in the memory of her smile.
The energy circulating in DIECIDECIMI is breathed when you enter. Today it is not only an optical center and eyewear store selected expression of the independent segment of the industry, but a meeting place of people and worlds that talk about beauty inside and outside the eyes.
DIECIDECIMI is a story to be told and lived at the same time, a story that every day Daniele Falzone and I inherit and try to tell and carry on with confidence. A story that I hope will be told by Luciano’s grandchildren because whatever their path, looking back they will find a testimony that is a sum of many positive factors: the strength of will, determination, passion for work, perseverance, good effort, love for the beautiful and well done, the value of meeting people.
We would have liked to celebrate our first 40 years together with all the people who gravitate to the life of DIECIDECIMI. We will. For the moment we entrust our thanks to all of you in a brief summary with pictures and voice.
A special thanks goes to our customers because every time they walk through the door of DIECIDECIMI they give us the trust that we try to deserve every day with our work.
Franca Bochicchio