Eco Casa says 'Ciao' to NYC

NEW YORK — Eco Casa Italy recently set up shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side to cater to the American market, extending the family-owned and operated linen business based in Florence since 1995. The first phase of the new venture, a 400-square-foot shop, will expand into the 1,000-square-foot location next door this spring to house a showroom, studio and storage space.

The company's headquarters, a 1,200-square-foot showroom and store at Borga della Croce in Florence, has a staff of six employees, two of whom are designers. Eco Casa's bedding, bath and kitchen textiles are all made in Italy, with some bed covers from Portugal and linen from Croatia added to the mix. Nearly all products are hand-made of natural fabrics such as silk, taffeta, cotton chenille, linen, jute, cotton and pure Sardinian wool. Every item is packaged with a packet of dry lavender and a tag listing the products' all-natural, hypoallergenic constructions and care instructions.

According to Eco Casa Italy president Carolina Djordjevic, the reasons for coming to America were simple. "We had many Americans in Italy telling us to try out our products in the States because these types of items were missing in the U.S.," she told. "Now we want to grow our business little by little without losing the spirit and uniqueness of our products."

Currently Eco Casa Italy features: pure virgin wool blankets; 10 styles of silk dec pillows; Italian lace dec pillows in four sizes; traditional Sardinian folkloric wool rugs, bed covers and pillows; 30 varieties of cotton-filled, hand-made Italian floral reversible quilts; cotton and linen sheet sets; matelasse bed covers; cotton chenille throws; cotton place mats and waffle weave kitchen towels with decorative panels; vintage hand-embroidered runners and squares; Provincial Italian rectangular table cloths; hand-made pieced lace and linen window panels in four styles; sheer window panels with tab tops in many colors and varieties, some with embroidery; cotton terry bath and hand towels with antique lace in white and off white; and embellished towel sets with embroidery accents.