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But to truly explain what Blessed Message is all about, we need to go even further back — to June 2017, when a twisted ankle left me stuck on the couch for three whole days. Boring, right? I've often heard — especially from educators — that boredom fuels creativity and imagination. I half-believed it… until I was forced into it.
I honestly don't know how the idea came to me. Maybe it sounds simple to some, but to us, it meant a lot. It was like a light bulb went off — and not just any light, but a floodlight that short-circuited everything.
I remember immediately calling my brother — the Maestro — who was alone at the shop. I was buzzing with excitement:
"I've got an idea! What if we make t-shirts with quotes from Saints???"
And right after the idea came the question:
"Okay, but who's going to design the writing?"
I was off like a rocket, remembering this guy I'd heard on a radio show (Pina and Diego on Radio Deejay) who made hand-lettered signs for a living. A quick Google search… Found him! A few messages later, and five minutes after that, we were already talking about quotes, Saints, lettering, t-shirts, and canvases.
His name is Simone Cannolicchio, and I'll always be grateful to him for welcoming this crazy idea with such enthusiasm. A month later, we met at a beach café in Cattolica (he's from Cesena), and I tried to explain why this project meant so much to us — and especially, what message we wanted to share through these Saint-quote tees and canvases.
The core concept was:
JOY and faith, FAITH and hope, HOPE and charity, CHARITY and love, LOVE and INCLUSION, WELCOME.
I immediately felt such a deep connection with Simone that I called my brother and said:
"He's the one! He's the right person for this."
His response:
"OK! But… what quote?"
It was July 2017. By August, we'd narrowed it down to seven possible quotes, written out on scraps of paper using the prettiest blue marker my daughter had brought on vacation. We laid the papers on the mountain terrace table and held big roundtable discussions with our wonderfully "extended" family.
By the end of August, we were down to three finalists. We sent them out via WhatsApp to our closest friends to help us pick the most meaningful one to launch the project.
It took months — from choosing the quote to producing the artwork. Simone sent us several drafts before landing on the final one. It's not easy to convey emotion beyond words, but he pulled it off beautifully.
In the meantime, while browsing Instagram, I came across the incredible talent of Enrica Mannari. It didn't take much to understand each other — just one email and a quick meeting, and we were aligned. The first draft Enrica sent us? Perfect. First try.
By July 2018, we had two designs ready to launch the project. But something still felt incomplete. We can't really say where the idea came from, but as soon as we decided to go into production with the first shirts, we also knew:
a portion of the proceeds had to go to charity.
That's how, in 2018 and 2019, part of the profits from Blessed Message products went to the Little Prince School in Nairobi, helping purchase school supplies for the children of Kibera, Africa's largest slum.
Our niece Martina had been teaching at the school until the previous year — which is why we chose to support it.
At the end of this year, our sister-in-law will travel to Nairobi to personally deliver Blessed Message's donation to the Little Prince School. Recently, we decided that the funds will go specifically toward musical supplies, in memory of our father Ambrogio, who passed away in January. He was the first musical talent in our extended family — thanks to him, alongside Maestro Giuseppe, our brother Enrico now makes a living through music.
Blessed Message is intentionally a brand separate from Tricella, because in our hearts, we dream that it will one day "walk" far beyond us. Two years have passed. Now it's time to let Blessed Message fly.
It's a journey we hope will bring joy and hope far beyond our little shop.
Wanna come along?