Under a Tuscan sun... Miss Rose Sister Violet in Italy!

Did you know that our family is half Italian? The current generation were born in Australia but prior generations were all born in Rome, Italy!! Needless to say, we have always cherished our Italian family background and hold deeply within us a passion for Italy.

It has been a dream for us to one day retrace our steps and re-connect to our heritage - which includes wonderful women who were seamstresses and fashion designers also. Wonderfully, this year has been the start to bringing this dream to life as we went back to Italy and designed a new women's collection of clothing - all manufactured in Italy using the most beautiful linen that only the Italians can make; exquisite quality in wonderful delicious colours and prints. We can't wait to share our designs with you and are so excited for all that's to come.

Having been to Italy many times we decided to explore an area we've never had the time to truly experience - TUSCANY!! Having only ever been to Florence (one of our favourite cities) and Siena we decided to finally lose ourselves in the Tuscan hills and see what treasures we could find. We explored the Chianti region... following winding roads through charming towns and idyllic hillsides, neighbouring towns and of course Florence. We got lost in walled cities and down narrow stone streets.. We ate our way through miles of pasta and enjoyed glasses of delicious chianti wines at sunset... We browsed through stores and fell in love with Italian perfumes, soaps and home wares... We wandered aimlessly and happily - always in the air the smell of coffee and tobacco and fresh bread baking.... We traipsed our way up cobbled streets and stumbled into forgotten churches to breathe in the silence and talk to angels.... We explored, laughed with locals, played with children, marveled at incredible views and enjoyed the magic that is Tuscany and Italy!

Our favourite places were the city of Florence and the beautiful town of Lucca. Other treasures were San Gimignano and Greve in Chianti. We didn't have time to visit Siena (another walled city) although we've been there before and highly recommend it! Here are some photos from a beautiful journey through Tuscany....