L’isolachenonc’è (Neverland) in Trieste: local leather artisans since 1979.

Everything always starts by chance … the first heat forces me to pull out summer clothes and, like every year, my son needs new summer shoes!

The shoe wear that we both prefer (Giovanni and I) is the classic leather sandal, the friar stylel: two leather strips and a small buckle around the ankle. Simple and timeless!

It’s a style that you can often find for smaller sized but not for a Euro Size 37! Gio probably is part of that 1% of children who love the classic look, a little “old man” style J

After looking around many shops in town, and discovering that nobody could satisfy my request, I was about to surrender to ordering them on-line. The shops had many different styles for children, sandals and plastic flip-flops of every possible colour, but nothing with a simple and essential line in good quality leather.

Fortunately, a good friend of mine suggested “L'Isolachenonc'è" with their custom made sandals.

I had a moment of nostalgia, because that little leather shop takes me back to my first hand bag with my initials on it.

In the 80’s a leather bracelet with your name on it was a must have for all teenagers from Trieste, and the little shop near Piazza Unità was filled with teenagers. The smell of leather was lovely, a small welcoming workshop for anyone who loved handbags, bracelets, belts and accessories.

That little shop hasn’t been there for over 10 years now, and I believed that, like many other little shops, it had shut down after the work of requalification they made on the city centre.

But I was wrong! Because l'Isolachenonc'è still exists! It has moved to a garage, in Via Colleoni 16 in Trieste, slightly out of the centre of town, where through a tight little road you reach a little two floor house with a workshop.

These are the work hours: from 10am to 5 pm Tuesday to Friday, and you can even call up and make an appointment like I did (home 040 761309 mob. 3927449023), you will always find the helpful and kind Mrs Covach!

Once we had chosen the model of sandal and type of sole, they took his foot size and measurements, we chose the colour and with just 50 euros the handmade leather sandals will be ready in a week! (and if I think that in all the shops I visited the prices were much higher even for an industrial made sandal I really feel happy).

I took a few quick pics with my phone, but there’s no time to lose, it’s almost summer!

I obviously need to share this new discovery with you, maybe there’s someone else like my son who loves the d’antan charm! 😉