A FAMILY HISTORY...
Maison Gala’s mission is to promote healthy and authentic values.
Into each of her creations, Carmen puts a pinch of herself, a touch of Italy and a large helping of passion.
In the fall of 2012, Carmen left Lake Maggiore and came to France for both personal and professional reasons. As soon as she reached the “City of Light”, Carmen wasted no time in pursuing her high-powered career in finance, a career on which she had embarked some ten years earlier in Milan.
Carmen’s new Parisian friends were soon to discover a range of Italian culinary specialties and fine dining traditions at impromptu yet festive meals, where pride of place was reserved for linen tablecloths hand-embroidered by her Nonne (grandmothers) and her Zie (aunts), dinner services made by hand or family glassware handed down between successive generations.
Flash forward to 2018 after several years in which these handcrafted family treasures were lovingly and carefully preserved.
It was then that Carmen had her lightbulb moment, when the stack of plates gifted by Nonna Carmela found itself on the floor, shattered into a thousand pieces! "Never mind, we’ll order a new set", she consoled herself.
But she soon realized that the artisan who had made them was no longer in the trade. Impossible to replace the broken plates like for like. The end of a chapter of family history, the end of a dinner service passed down for generations...
This disappointment and the loss of her much-loved family heirlooms prompted Carmen to look into ways of preserving craft traditions and skills. During the watershed year of 2020, she decided it was time to give new meaning to her professional life and embark on this socially accountable, sustainable and authentic project.
Maison Gala was born...
WHY « MAISON GALA »?
Maison (or “house” in English) is the place where family members can gather, a home where people can meet and receive those dearest to them.
Gala, from the old French word "gale", meaning “merriment”, “celebration” or, more generally, a “festive occasion”.
Maison Gala: a name that associates the notions of family and festive spirit.
UNIQUE
Handmade objects that both tell a story and sublimate your dining experience.
ECO-RESPONSIBLE
All our products are produced under people and environmentally-friendly conditions.
HANDCRAFTED
At Maison Gala, we are determined to support and sustain traditional craftsmen and women, their skills and crafts.
CARMEN CARROZZO.
Carmen Carrozzo, founder of Maison Gala, Italian by birth and Parisian by adoption.
"Before embarking on this major business venture, my career had always followed a fairly conventional course: high school diploma in science, degree from a major business school in Milan and over 20 years working in finance for leading international groups. The time had come to change direction and develop a lifestyle project dear to my heart."
"I now split my time between the Paris headquarters of Maison Gala and Italy, where I am constantly looking for new artisanal talents and meet with those already on board. Each new creation is the product of my imagination and my discussions with its makers (master ceramists, embroiderers, etc.). I keep a close eye on all stages of the production process to be able to offer our customers more than just an object, the chance to share a lifestyle experience.”
"Thank you for accompanying me at least some of the way in this venture. I hope that you will fall in love with my collections and appreciate the stories that lie behind them".
Carmen Carrozzo, founder of Maison Gala
