Italian Artisan Gifts for Christmas
I have prepared a list of my favourite Italian—mainly Tuscan—producers and artisans, most of them dear friends, to inspire your Christmas gifts.
Ciao dear friends,
I come to your mailbox on this grey, cold Wednesday with a sparkling newsletter full of gift ideas, artisan goods, skilful artisans, and positive vibes. Is it too early to talk about Christmas? I don’t think so, after all I already baked my first tray of ricciarelli—the Sienese almond cookies typical of our Christmas—, had my first slice of artisan panettone, and started compiling a list of small, thoughtful gifts for my friends.
Christmas gifts, yes, today we’ll be talking about Christmas gifts, can you hear the jolly jingles in the background? I have prepared a list of my favourite Italian—mainly Tuscan—producers and artisans, most of them dear friends, to inspire your Christmas gifts.
I love making gifts, and spending time thinking about the preferences of those who will receive them. Lately, I have come to appreciate gifts that are at the same time beautiful and useful, something you use every day on which you can splurge a bit more because you know they will come in handy: excellent ingredients, warm scarves, a notebook with smooth, opaque paper, a book. Books always make me happy.
This said, I’m not the most organized person, and I usually find myself searching for the last gifts a couple of days before Christmas, baking a tray of biscotti at the very last minute, or rummaging through my pantry for a good homemade jam. A box crammed with ribbons, cute labels, dried orange slices, and colourful paper bags is my way out. That’s the one thing I work on year after year, to turn even a simple homemade jam into a festive gift.
That’s why I thought a list of Italian artisans and producers could be a perfect starting point to begin talking about Christmas in a relaxed, inspiring way.
Before delving into today’s Italian gift list, a friendly reminder that this Christmas you can gift yourself or give your friends and family a subscription to Letters from Tuscany.
Give yourself and your loved ones a year brimming with joy and good food, insider guides to Tuscany, honest, reliable, Italian recipes, and monthly cook-alongs, to build your confidence in the kitchen.
A little spoiler: the next Cook Along will be on Sunday, December 3rd, a special 2-hour live Christmas Cook Along to bake the Sienese Christmas treats to add to your Christmas cookie box. Mark your calendar!
With your subscription, you support us directly and keep us going.
Speaking of books… You can also gift our cookbook, Cucina Povera.
Here on the blog all the links to pick your copy of Cucina Povera. When possible, support your local independent bookstores.
If you prefer to gift an experience (and I agree with you), the bookings for our 2024 cooking class season are now open!
Every meal will be an excuse to travel through Tuscany thanks to local recipes, memories and stories. Learn more about our cooking classes here.
We also launched our 3-day Seasonal Cooking Masterclass, for a deep dive into Italian cuisine. These masterclasses are thought to highlight the seasonality of local produce, recipes, food traditions and cultural habits. Learn more about the Three-day Masterclass here.
Let’s make this a space of generous sharing.
Tell us which was the most appreciated gift you ever received or made. Make us part of your favourite recipe for cookies for a last-minute DIY present, share the links to artisans or producers you admire, or please, please, share your profile if you are an artisan and want to shed some light on your work. I’ll be reading you in the comments.
🎁 A list of Italian Producers and Artisans to inspire your Christmas gifts 🎁
Cactus bags - Bags and backpacks
I’ve known Lucrezia since elementary school, and I do love her bags made with different fabrics, like tapestry fabric and leather. I have a beautiful backpack, a tote bag, and a smaller pink leather pochette that Livia adores. I’m thinking about getting a Euphorbia bag. Every piece of her collection is unique, colourful, original, and homemade in Colle Val d’Elsa.
She has a little shop in the medieval city centre of Colle Val d’Elsa, or you can meet her in local markets where you’ll recognize her products for the bright colours and different fabrics.
IG profile: @cact_usbags
Modoro - Furnishing accessories
Totes, aprons, kitchen clothes, recipe books, bread baskets, placemats, cake carriers… everything with the cutest prints, reminiscing of the Italian table: tortellini, tomatoes, garlic and rosemary, citrus fruits, chestnuts, cherries. Cristina is also available for custom prints on demand.
I have their headbands with red tomatoes, and we recently bought a gift for a friend with a cute tortellini print.
PROMO CODE: MODORO4JULS —Use the promo code “MODORO4JULS” when checking out from their online shop and a 10% discount will be applied to your order. Valid until December 31st, with a 50€ minimum order.
IG profile: @modoro.it
Aspetta e Vedrai - Artisan Jewelry
I fell in love with the idea behind Sara and Elia’s project years ago. Old, broken ceramic plates find new life in their unique jewels, along with old marbles, buttons, cards, and stamps. Wearing necklaces or earrings that in a past life were plates is just fabulous, and makes me feel even more connected to my passion for food.
The list of their jewels that I mix and match with my clothes is endless, and we often choose unique pieces from their collections as gifts for our friends, too: two matching necklaces for our wedding maids of honours (my sister Claudia and Tommy’s cousin, Claudia), a necklace with a marble in the colour of her contrada for my niece in Siena as a confirmation gift… each choice is unique and guarantees enthusiastic thanks from the receivers.
PROMO CODE: JULS15 —Use the promo code “JULS15” when checking out from their online shop and a 15% discount will be applied to your order.
From their online shop they only ship to Italy and EU countries, but send Sara an email to aspettaevedrai@outlook.it and she will ship worldwide.
IG profile: @aspettaevedrai_
Rosso Ramina - Pottery
Based in Lucca, RossoRamina is an Italian Ceramic Manufactory, born from the synergy of two young creatives, Stefano Gambogi and Federica Cipriani, who in their production, entirely handmade, distinguish themselves in making the useful beautiful, giving functional but also poetic value to their collections for the table, furnishings, and lighting.
I often drink my tea in their mug, joyful with flowers, a souvenir from my last trip to Lucca.
Online shop (they ship worldwide)
IG profile: @rossoramina
Coltellerie Berti - Artisanal Knives
When, during the summer, we spend a long weekend in Mugello, I try to convince Tommaso and my father-in-law to have a day trip to Scarperia, a local mountain town renowned for the best artisanal Tuscan knives (and for the circuit where MotoGP is raced).
Recently I bought a Chinese-style cleaver knife from Coltellerie Berti, a family-run company in Scarperia who’s been making artisan knives in Tuscany since 1895, and turned my hours spent prepping vegetables for our weekly meals into an exciting moment.
I especially love their kitchen knives with magnetic logs. Each knife comes with a single log, so you can make your own modular composition according to your preferences. Elegant and a true Tuscan gift.
Subscribe to their newsletter and you’ll receive a discount on your first order.
Online shop (they ship worldwide)
IG profile: @berticoltellerie
Biscottificio Mattei - Tuscan biscotti and more
It was 1858 when Antonio Mattei opened his biscuit factory in Prato. The biscuit factory produced both cantucci, flavoured with aniseed and fennel, as well as biscuits with almonds, which, thanks to the numerous national and international awards, slowly became known as Prato’s typical biscuits or even Tuscan biscotti. In 1908, the biscuit factory passed to the Pandolfini family, who, still nowadays, three generations on, produce these delicious biscuits which taste like home and tradition. Here they produce the archetypical Tuscan biscotti with almonds.
Are you searching for unusual activities in Florence? On the 160th anniversary of its establishment, Biscottificio Antonio Mattei opened its second home in the heart of Florence. In a completely renovated space, you can visit the archive of memorabilia and documents which are dedicated to telling the company's history, and taste products from the Biscuit Factory.
PROMO CODE: JULSKITCHEN —Use the promo code “JULSKITCHEN” when checking out from their online shop and a 10% discount will be applied to your order. Valid for one order, from November 25th to December 10th.
Online shop (they ship worldwide)
IG profile: @biscottimattei
Pruneti - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The Pruneti farm is run with passion by two brothers, Gionni and Paolo, who have behind them the experience of a family rooted in Chianti and devoted to agriculture for over two hundred years. It was the beginning of the XIX century when Pasquale Pruneti, the forefather of the family, began his activities as a farmer in San Polo in Chianti.
I truly appreciate the passion and the honesty of the Pruneti family, as I am the biggest fan of their excellent extra virgin olive oil, probably one of the best in Tuscany and Italy.
Also, if you happen to be in Tuscany soon, don’t miss their Extra Gallery in Greve in Chianti, where you can have an immersive experience in the fascinating world of extra virgin olive oil, including tastings, lunch, and even cocktails made with their olive oil!
Together we created a Juls’ Kitchen box with a collection of my favourite extra virgin olive oils—different aromas and intensity to match with your favourite recipes. It includes a 500 ml bottle of Fruttato Equilibrato, a 500 ml bottle of Monocultivar Leccino, a 500 ml bottle of Monocultivar Moraiolo, a 500 ml bottle of Monocultivar Frantoio, and a 500 ml bottle of their olio nuovo Christmas Gold Edition. It comes with a second Olio Nuovo Christmas Gold Edition as a gift.
Online shop (they ship worldwide)
IG profile: @pruneti
Querceto di Castellina - Wine and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Located in the Chianti Classico area, Il Querceto is a little corner of heaven, an organic agriturismo and winery in Castellina in Chianti.
Jacopo’s grandparents bought the place as a family vacation home in 1945. It has seen many changes. In 1997 the old vineyards were replanted. Since its first year of production in 1998, Querceto has been relying on sustainable techniques in both the vineyards and the cellars. In 2009 they began their move to organic production and were certified organic in 2012. Grapes are harvested by hand from the sloping vineyards about the estate, yet another example of the principle in action—that a great wine is born not in the cellar, but in the vineyard. We love their Livia wine for more than one reason!
Enjoy a 10% discount on wine orders (olive oil included!) with no additional costs to ship Express internationally to ensure arrival by the holidays. A surprise holiday gift will also be included!
PROMO CODE: FESTE-23 —Use the promo code “FESTE-23” when checking out from their online shop, the discount will be applied, and your order will ship express.
Online shop (they ship worldwide)
IG profile: @quercetodicastellina
Amedei - Tuscan chocolate and more
Amedei was founded in 1990 in the town of Pontedera, in the province of Pisa: a territory that is currently considered the heart of the Chocolate Valley. In 1991 they created the Toscano Black 70 bar, the first bean-to-bar product in Italy: a chocolate made through the direct control of the entire supply chain, from the selection of cocoa beans to the production of the chocolate bar. They have an Advent Calendar that would give every morning until Christmas the sweetest beginning, and a fabulous Christmas Collection.
Pontedera is not far from Pisa. You could also consider booking a Tour and Tasting Experience at Amedei next time you are in Tuscany.
PROMO CODE: julskitchen_15 —Use the promo code “julskitchen_15” when checking out from their online shop and a 15% discount will be applied to your order. Valid until December 31st, only for Europe.
Online shop (only for Italy and Europe)
IG profile: @amedeitoscana
Savini Tartufi - Tuscan Truffles and more
Everything I know about truffles is thanks to the Savini family and their passion for this precious product of the Tuscan woods.
When you enter the great hall of Savini Tartufi you get intoxicated, not just by the heady aroma of truffles that envelops you when you cross the threshold, but for the passion that reigns in the family. A passion for things done with honesty and love.
Savini Tartufi is a family-based company. The story tells of 4 generations of truffle hunters who hand down, from father to son, a unique passion that has turned into a profession over the years. A patient work that follows the rhythms of Nature and that, in the outings in the woods, has only one faithful companion, the dog.
Should you be in the area of Forcoli, not far from Pisa and Volterra, try the Truffle Experience, the experience of truffle hunting and caving, an intangible heritage of Unesco.
Savini Tartufi is not only fresh truffles. Truffles are also processed to make ready-made preparations: everything they make has real truffles in it, from their outstanding honey with white truffle to my favourite snack, peschiole al tartufo, small peaches just born, still so unripe that the core has not yet formed. They are crunchy and addictive.
IG profile: @savinitartufi
I love reading your posts. You have given me many ideas for Christmas gifts. One, in particular, is 'extra virgin olive oil'. My nephew, who loves Cucina Povera and is a great cook, will be getting a bottle this year. Thank you Giulia.
PS... I'm so enjoying Cucina Povera! What a great book!