Who we are and what we believe in — through 73 answers.
A European home for those looking for objects made by hand by real people — not industrial reproductions of things that look handmade. Lamps, rugs, ceramics, blown glass, painted textiles, embroidered cushions, engraved dies and wax seals. Behind every line, a workshop — and a hand that signs it.
It's not a catalogue, it's not a multi-brand store. It's a meeting point between the one who makes and the one who's looking, chosen one by one.
Most online marketplaces are search engines with a checkout at the end. You search, the algorithm suggests, you pay, someone ships. Not here.
Every workshop has been chosen, verified, photographed in person. Every line is curated. Every quote goes through a real person who knows the artisan, talks to them, follows the order until it reaches your home. You will never receive a written confirmation from a bot. You will never speak to a generic customer service. The person on the other side is only one — and her name is Marie.
Both. Part is Italian — the eye, the care, some workshops. Part comes from elsewhere, because certain traditions live somewhere else and deserve to be brought here. No fake 'made in Italy' on pieces that aren't. Origin is always declared, exactly like the fibre of a fabric.
Three things, one on top of the other.
One — the selection. No thousands of entries, no long tail of generic products. Every line is chosen because it's worth it, not because it fills a grid.
Two — bespoke as standard, not as a luxury option. More than half of the pieces here can be configured, modified, personalised. Asking for a quote is normal. Waiting a few weeks is normal.
Three — the person behind. Not a company with a help desk. A name, an email, a phone that's coming, a conversation that lasts.
It doesn't mean 'choose the colour among three options'. It means the piece doesn't exist until you order it. It means the measurements — you give them, centimetre by centimetre if needed. It means the pattern, the fibre, the decoration, the monogram, the engraving are thought for you, in that room, for that person you're giving to, in that context.
Timings are longer than ready-made products. The price is always stated in the quote before you pay. Freedom is nearly total — only the workshop's technique sets the limits.
On each product page you'll find a dedicated button — Commissions… / Request a quote. Click, describe what you want (reference photos, measurements if you have them, use context), confirm. We receive your request, pass it to the artisan, they respond with price and timeline within 48 working hours. You decide whether to accept. No commitment until you pay.
The line configurator (Die, Wax Seal, Textiles, Cushions, Shade, Rug) is instead for designing and visualising the object before the request — it can accompany the quote, but the quote always goes through the button.
No. The quote is always free, always without commitment. Even if you change your mind after. Even if you make three different quotes to compare. That's how it works.
Within 48 working hours for the first quote. It's the rule we keep, and it's written in the contract with each artisan. If someone is on holiday or backlogged, it's flagged on the page — we don't leave anyone waiting in the dark.
Yes, until the moment you confirm the final quote. From that point production starts and modifications depend on the state (piece not started yet, in progress, finished). Write to us at contact@rimafonti.com, we handle case by case.
Partly. The artisan sets the price of their work, and that we don't touch — it would be dishonest. What can be reopened is the specification: a smaller size, a less expensive fibre, a less complex decoration. Change the request, change the quote. It almost always works.
Yes. Inside 'My account' you'll find, for each order, a dedicated conversation that puts you in direct contact with the artisan. No filter from us, no intermediate wait — we read too, to accompany, but your words reach them without detours. If translation is needed we handle it behind the scenes, without breaking the flow. For big projects (B2B, special editions) we organise direct calls.
Almost always yes. On request we send a gallery of pieces made for other clients (anonymised), workshop photos, details of past commissions. For the most articulate wizards (Die, Textiles) you'll also find public examples on the product page.
Yes. If the specification is technically impossible — for example a monogram in an alphabet the engraver has never done, or a rug measurement that doesn't fit their looms. It happens rarely. When it does, we reply immediately with an alternative that works.
Yes. To buy any piece you need a registered account — it's the condition for receiving quotes, keeping orders, talking to us over time. No guest checkout. No buy-and-vanish. We want to be able to write to you if the leather of your die gets damaged, if the fibre of a rug needs mending, if Antoine returns to your monogram six months later.
It's your password. We call it that because it makes us smile, and because calling it 'access credential' would be too much. When you sign up, you choose a mail and a gelato. From then on, that's how you enter.
From the login page, click on 'I've lost my gelato'. Enter your email, you'll receive a link to create a new one. The link lasts 24 hours. If it doesn't arrive, check spam — if still nothing, write to us at contact@rimafonti.com.
No. For the reason explained above: we want there to be a story between us, not an anonymous transaction.
Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna for split payment in three interest-free instalments. Everything goes through Stripe — so secure, encrypted, with the same guarantees as a European bank.
For bespoke orders above €1,500 we also accept bank transfer (1-2 extra days for confirmation).
Yes. We never see your card numbers — they're encrypted directly by the browser and transmitted to Stripe. Stripe is the payment platform used by Shopify, Apple, Amazon, Booking. Compliant with PCI-DSS level 1, the highest. Your banking credentials never pass through our servers.
When you want production to start. The quote is free and doesn't commit — payment is the signal to the artisan that we're going. Until you pay, nothing moves; the moment you pay, the workshop takes the work in hand. Stripe Connect automatically splits the amount: the artisan receives their share in the same instant.
Yes, with Klarna — integrated directly in Stripe. Three interest-free instalments, 30 days apart. Available on all products, without distinction. Klarna does a quick check at order time (decision in seconds) and sends reminders when instalments are due.
For big orders, on request, we can look at four or six instalment plans case by case.
Yes. VAT is calculated at checkout based on the delivery country — automatic, nothing to do. For deliveries outside the EU, VAT is deducted and customs duties are the recipient's responsibility (they vary by country).
Yes. For personal orders, the standard tax receipt is automatic and arrives by email. For business orders (VAT number), enter your billing details at checkout — the invoice is issued automatically and sent by email within 24 working hours.
Electronic invoicing via SdI for Italian customers, simple PDF invoice for the rest of the EU.
Euros. If your card is in another currency, it's your bank that does the exchange at the day's rate. We don't add exchange fees on our side.
Everywhere. Literally. We were born on the internet — and the internet has no borders. EU, UK, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, UAE. For rarer destinations (South America, Central Asia, Africa) we ask for logistics confirmation before shipping, but in principle yes.
Depends on weight, dimensions, destination. The exact cost is shown at checkout, before payment — no surprises. For EU orders above a certain threshold (varying by line) shipping is included. For the bulkiest pieces (large rugs, bespoke shades) delivery is handled by a dedicated courier and we give you a personalised estimate.
EU: 3-7 working days from shipping.
UK and Switzerland: 5-10 working days (plus customs clearance).
Outside EU: 7-15 working days (plus customs clearance).
Times start from the moment the piece leaves the workshop. For products in stock, shipping happens within 48 working hours of the order.
They vary by line and complexity — weeks rather than days. The artisan's quote always gives you the exact timeline promised for your piece, before you pay. We're finalising the indicative ranges per line with each workshop: as soon as they're confirmed, we publish them here. In the meantime, every quote comes with its date.
DHL Express or UPS for most EU and international shipments. Bartolini or GLS for standard Italian deliveries. Royal Mail or Parcelforce for UK on request. Dedicated courier (white-glove delivery) on request for large or fragile pieces.
Yes, automatic. As soon as the piece leaves, you receive an email with the tracking number and the direct link. You also find it in 'My account → Orders'.
Yes, always — by default on every order, regardless of value. Insurance covers damage and loss. For pieces above €2,000 we activate extended insurance with declared value.
Don't sign the delivery receipt without reservation. Write on the document 'receipt with reservation — parcel damaged' and take two photos (exterior and content). Then send everything to us at contact@rimafonti.com within 48 hours. We open the case with the courier, activate insurance, we resend the piece or refund you. The paperwork, we handle.
Yes, for ready products (not personalised). You have 30 days from delivery to change your mind, return the piece in the same condition you received it, and ask for a full refund.
Bespoke products are excluded from the right of withdrawal, as provided by Article 16(c) of EU Directive 2011/83 — it's European law, not our choice. When a die carries your initials, we can't resell it to someone else.
Thirty days from delivery. More than the legal minimum (14 days across the EU) — because some choices need to live at home for a week before confirming themselves.
As a rule no — Article 16 of EU Directive 2011/83 excludes goods made to consumer specifications from the right of withdrawal. Exception: if the piece arrives non-conforming with the agreed specification (wrong monogram, wrong measurement, non-matching colour), it's a case of non-conformity — not withdrawal — and we remake or refund. Write to us, we handle personally.
Legal guarantee of conformity of 24 months (EU Directive 2019/771). If the piece shows a defect within this period, the artisan repairs it, replaces it, or you're fully refunded. Traces of handcrafting (asymmetries, colour variations, micro-irregularities) are not defects — they're the signature of a handmade object.
For ordinary withdrawal (change of mind on a ready product): the client's responsibility.
For non-conformity or defect: our responsibility — we pay the pickup.
Within 14 days from return of the piece and verification of its condition. Refund goes to the same payment method used for purchase. Real card or bank timing: additional 3-5 working days.
With minimalism. We keep only what serves to process your order: name, address, email, purchase history. We don't share data with advertising platforms. We don't resell lists. We don't profile for advertising. The full privacy policy is up there, in the mini-footer — written in readable English, not bureaucratic language.
Compliant with GDPR. You can request export or deletion of your data at any time by writing to contact@rimafonti.com.
Yes, only for shipping the piece you ordered. It's necessary — they're the one who packs and hands to the courier. Only name, address, possibly phone number for the courier. They never receive information about payment, other purchases of yours, commercial preferences. The contract with each artisan forbids further use of this data.
We have the strict minimum. Technical cookies for cart and login (always active). Anonymous analytics cookies (self-hosted Matomo, no full IPs, no Google Analytics). No advertising cookies, no third-party trackers, no Meta Pixel, no TikTok.
To manage your preferences: click on 'Manage cookies' in the mini-footer.
Italian, French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Greek. Marie replies directly in the first four, and gladly relies on translators for the other three. Response time is identical: 24 working hours.
When they can, yes — Antoine in French, Zazie in Italian. When they can't, we translate. You won't notice the difference.
Yes. The internet is interconnection, and we were born to deliver beautiful things wherever there's an address. For non-EU destinations, customs duties and import VAT are the recipient's responsibility (they vary by country), and delivery times get a bit longer. For the rest, we're used to the challenge.
Three levels of guarantee.
One — photographic. Every piece is accompanied by process photos, taken in the workshop. When possible, short videos of key moments (blowing, cutting, embroidering, engraving). On request we provide additional material before purchase.
Two — contractual. Every artisan signs a contract with us in which they commit to working by hand in the declared parts. Fakes — even partial — are grounds for breaking the relationship.
Three — traceability. For each order we keep a record of who did what, when, where. On client request, this information is accessible.
Yes, for lines that provide it (Die, Wax Seal, some signature ceramics, unique glasses). It's a paper signed by the artisan that accompanies the piece in its packaging. For lines where it's not standard, on request we have it issued before shipment — an email is enough.
In principle yes, by appointment. Antoine welcomes in Les Landes — south-west France, forest and silence — for clients ordering special editions. Zazie receives at her workshop in Italy on request. For lines curated by Marie directly, the visit is organised with her. Write to contact@rimafonti.com a few days ahead.
Hand wash in cold water, neutral soap (Marseille or Aleppo), no rubbing. Dry in the shade. No washing machine, ever. The paint is fixed but not immortal — over time the shades breathe, and that's the grace of the true object.
For stubborn stains: dab, don't rub. For embroidered cushion covers: professional dry cleaning is the safest choice.
Technically yes, but we advise against. The dishwasher uses high temperatures, aggressive detergents, and mechanical cycles that in the long run cloud the surface and weaken the internal micro-stresses of blown glass (which, unlike industrial glass, has non-uniform tensions).
Hand wash, warm water, neutral soap, soft cloth. Immediate drying. It lasts generations if treated this way.
For lines without metallic décor (gold, silver, lustre): yes, both microwave and oven up to 180°C. For ceramics painted with metallic touches: absolutely not. We always specify this on the product page, and on the certificate that comes with the piece.
Dishwasher: better to avoid for longevity, even if possible.
A neutral cream every six months, soft cloth, never direct prolonged sun exposure. Small scratches are part of the patina — real leather ages beautifully, it doesn't spoil like fake. For important pieces (bags, briefcases), professional treatment every two years keeps the leather supple and luminous.
Low-power vacuum, always in the direction of the pile or weave. No rotating brush (it damages long fibres). For fresh stains: dab with a damp cloth, that's it. For stubborn stains: professional dry cleaning, not wet.
Wool rugs breathe — exposing them from time to time to ventilated shade helps. Raw agave rugs do better in less-trafficked areas (corridor, veranda).
Three ratios that always work.
Shade diameter = lamp height (base + bulb holder) × 0.6-0.7. Example: 50 cm tall lamp, 30-35 cm shade diameter.
Shade height = total finished lamp height × 0.3-0.4. Example: 70 cm finished lamp, 21-28 cm tall shade.
Shade diameter never drops below the lamp base (risk of visual imbalance).
If in doubt, write to us with the photo and measurements of the lamp — Teresa points out the two or three formats that work.
It takes you to visually build your die — shape, size, mark content (initials, monogram, symbol), font, cut type. You see a real-time preview. When you're happy, you send the composition via the Commissions… button. Antoine receives it, proposes the quote, works.
It's not a professional graphic editor — it's a guided wizard. For requests outside standard parameters (very specific calligraphy, symbol to draw from scratch) the dialogue continues by email and in the dedicated conversation inside 'My account'.
Four ways.
Single initial — the most direct. It works if the initial has a strong shape (A, M, R, S).
Crossed initials — more elaborate. Yours + your surname's initials, or yours + your partner's.
Classic monogram — three intertwined letters (first name + surname + middle name or family initial).
Crest or symbol — a drawing of yours, an animal, a plant, a short word in Latin or another language.
Antoine helps you choose which way has the most visual force for your letters.
Good question. The answer changes for each, but the method is one.
Start from the room, not the object. What's really missing in that room? What makes your head turn when you enter? What makes you feel at home when you come back? Then, start from the material, not the piece. Do you want textiles? Glass? Ceramics? One choice at a time, no rush.
And if you still can't: write to us. Marie gladly listens to stories of rooms, and proposes one or two pieces that might work.
We believe that authenticity is not a luxury for private homes. We believe it must arrive everywhere — and especially where everything seems already decided, already cloned, already seen. Hotel lobbies where every mirror is the same mirror. Restaurants where the chair, the glass, the plastic flower repeat identical from Milan to Bangkok. Grey offices. Houses designed by picking from the three catalogues everyone uses.
Working with professionals, for us, means cracking this uniformity. It means the lamp in room 14 isn't identical to the lamp in room 15. It means the twenty cups of your café aren't clones, but twenty pieces blown by the same hand on different days — and it shows. It means the cushion on the armchair of your architecture studio carries an embroidery thought for that armchair, in that colour, in that room.
If you design spaces you want to be memorable, write to us. We put on the table the possibility of being extraordinary — literally, out of the series.
Yes, and it's one of the ways we prefer working. Write to contact@rimafonti.com with your project — the room, the atmosphere sought, approximate quantities, timings. We reply within 48 hours with a concrete proposal: which lines make sense for your brief, which artisans can take charge, dedicated pricing for project orders. No automation, no form to fill. A real person, a real conversation.
Yes. For multiple orders (coordinated sets of cups, cushions, shades, rugs, textiles by the metre) we have dedicated treatment. There's no published pricing — it wouldn't be honest, because every project is different. Above ten units we discuss together price, timings and personalisation. Above fifty we enter special edition territory: working with the artisan to think of a small series designed only for you.
Yes, and it seems right to us. It's in the same idea that moves us: celebrating each. Not only the artisans who make, but also the one who designs, who welcomes clients, who keeps a space open — the mark, the signature, the trait of an identity that has worked to give itself form. Helping a design, a branding, a company story to take physical body — on leather, on fabric, on sealed paper, on rug, on ceramic — is one of the ways we feel Rima Fonti becomes truly useful.
Dies and Seals were born for this — an engraved mark, an executive calligraphy, an identity that becomes object, an object that becomes gesture. On cushions we embroider. On rugs we can weave big monograms, integrated into the design. On cups and glass objects we can't personalise with logos (the nature of blown glass doesn't allow it in small series).
Write to us with the mark's image, use context, approximate quantities — we tell you immediately what's feasible, on which line it makes most sense, and which artisan will make it happen.
No, actually no. Our prices reflect the artisans' work hours, not an inflated margin that could be discounted at end of season. Making discounts wouldn't mean paying them less — it would mean paying them unfairly less. The price is the price, all year.
No, no cumulative points, no algorithm telling you how much you're worth, no badges to unlock, no 'only €47 more to reach silver level'. It's not our way, and frankly no artisan would sew better knowing the client has a platinum level.
But every now and then — when the mood strikes, when an artisan decides — we draw lots among people who bought recently. The drawn person receives at home an object chosen by the artisan themselves, wrapped by hand, no invoice, no explanation. You don't know what will arrive. The artisan does.
It's a gesture, not a mechanism. A hand that chooses another without having to explain why. A small ambush of kindness, in parcel form.
The only loyalty we believe in is the one earned without asking for it.
We don't do sales. Prices are prices, all year. Hermès doesn't do sales. Loro Piana doesn't do sales. Vietri ceramics don't do sales. Fortuny lampshades don't do sales. That's where we are, in that family.
contact@rimafonti.com. It's the only official email address — beware of anyone writing from other 'rima-fonti' or 'rimafonti-shop' domains. We reply within 24 working hours, in Italian, French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese or Greek.
We're about to add one — a dedicated SIM that Marie will activate soon. For now, the fastest way to reach us is contact@rimafonti.com — we reply within 24 working hours.
24 working hours for emails to contact@rimafonti.com.
48 working hours for the first artisan quote.
24 working hours for subsequent exchanges in a conversation on an ongoing order.
Saturday, Sunday and Italian holidays don't count.
Yes, for registered clients. Inside 'My account' you can message us directly for each order — questions, modifications, ongoing quotes. It's contextualised: Marie sees immediately what you're talking about, without asking you every time for order number or artisan name. No public live chat widget — that model doesn't reflect the way we want to talk to you.
Yes. It's one of the reasons we exist — to circulate the extraordinary knowledge of those who work with their hands, so it doesn't stay locked inside a workshop.
Antoine welcomes in Les Landes — south-west France, pine forest, slowness. You enter his workshop and understand in five minutes why a die requires weeks: the metal is chosen, heated, engraved, cooled, burnished, finished. He tells the story willingly, and almost always offers coffee.
Zazie receives at her workshop in Italy — fabrics stretched on tables, threads suspended in the light, the rhythm of one who sews and speaks at the same time. She shows you the patterns she's designed, and those she's still thinking about.
Giovina receives in Rome for those wanting to understand how the trade of rugs from Colombia works, where the weavers live, how an Andean sheep wool loom is built, why a knot woven to mesh lasts four generations.
Elisa is in Colombia, near Yarumo. For important projects we organise an hour-long video call with the workshop — you see the glass inflating, hear the sound of the cane, understand why every piece is different from another.
Write to contact@rimafonti.com a few days ahead. It's one of the most beautiful things you can do before buying a handmade object — touch it in its place. Know who made it, and with what gesture.
Yes, partly — and it seems right to say it. Some texts on the site are written with the assistance of AI tools: product descriptions, translations in the other six languages (Italian, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Greek), some photo captions, some Journal articles, some meta descriptions and titles for search engines.
Nothing of this is published as is. Marie reviews every text before it goes online — rewrites, cuts, corrects, reformulates. Editorial responsibility is hers, integrally. If you find an error, a strange phrasing, or a translation that sounds mechanical, write to contact@rimafonti.com: we fix immediately.
The photographs. All of them. Those of products, workshops, artisans at work, materials, details, patterns, fabrics stretched on tables, hands engraving or sewing or kneading. They are real photographs, taken by the artisans themselves or by Marie in the workshops.
There don't exist — and there won't exist — synthetic images of invented artisans, workshops reconstructed on the computer, products never made, people who never existed. If you see a person on this site, they really exist. If you see an object, it was made by someone who has a name.
Also written by real people, never by AI: prices and delivery times (decided by the artisans), the legal pages (T&C, privacy policy, returns, legal notes — reviewed by human consultants) and every email that reaches you from contact@rimafonti.com.
The manufacturer is the artisan who made the object — Antoine for dies, seals and stamps; Elisa for blown glass; Zazie and Giovina for textiles and rugs; and so on for each line. The manufacturer's name, legal address and contact details are indicated on each product page in compact form (the 'Manufacturer: …' line at the beginning of the box). Rima Fonti acts as marketplace platform and, when the manufacturer is outside the EU, also as EU responsible importer under Regulation 2023/988.
In practice: if you have a problem with an object, write to contact@rimafonti.com — we bridge with the artisan, take on the case, guarantee the response arrives within 48 working hours.
Stop using it and write to us immediately at contact@rimafonti.com with photos and problem description. We enter the report in the product safety complaint registry within 24 hours, contact the artisan, evaluate whether it's an isolated defect (repair/replacement) or if broader action is needed (batch recall, notification to authorities via the EU Safety Gate Portal).
If the problem is urgent (injury, risk to third parties), call us also at the number indicated in your 'My account' conversation.
24 months standard in the European Union, from the date of product delivery. 36 months if the recipient resides in Spain (more protective local rule). The guarantee covers conformity defects — that is, the piece not matching what was described, ordered, shown in the quote. It doesn't cover natural wear, damage from improper use, or modifications made after delivery.
For the additional commercial warranty (free repair beyond the standard year) read the T&C — it varies by line.
No, the EU 14-day right of withdrawal doesn't apply to products made bespoke, personalised, or configured to your specifications (Dir. 2011/83 art. 16 c). This includes all the Antoine line (dies, seals, stamps with your logo), textiles painted from your pattern, commissioned rugs, cushions embroidered with your initials.
The right to the legal guarantee for conformity defect remains always active (see above). If the piece doesn't match what was agreed in the quote, talk to us — we'll find a solution.