Four Seasons Hotel Firenze Invites Guests to Immerse Themselves in One of the Oldest Florentine Arts in a Private Textile Painting Workshop

Learning all the secrets behind the Florentine ancestral art of textile painting to create a unique personalised t-shirt, table mat or scarf is a new experience that Four Seasons Hotel Firenze is launching in partnership with La Serra MK Textile Atelier.

Led by award-winning designers Margherita Pandolfini and Ernest Karl Jorns, the workshop takes place in a fascinating 15h century greenhouse located in the Palazzo Pandolfini. This very special palazzo used to belong to the Stibbert family, founders of the famous Florentine Stibbert Museum, and is where Sofronia Stibbert used to cultivate her camelias.

Guests will enjoy a private guided tour of the beautiful Palazzo Pandolfini and its garden before going to the atelier, where the workshop takes place. After a brief introduction of the different techniques used to paint on textiles, guests will have an opportunity to create their own personalised fabric using silk screen-printing, free hand-painting, block printing and stencil printing. At the end of the workshop, they will be able to take home their creation, as an unforgettable souvenir of their Florentine getaway.

Those looking for inspiration may choose to include a pre-workshop visit to the famous Stibbert Museum, famous for its remarkable tapestries and paintings.

About the Experience

The “Textile Hand Painting, a Florentine Art” workshop is an experience available exclusively for guests at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, offered  all year round, based on availability.

• The 2-hour experience, inclusive of the textile painting kit and tour of the Palazzo Pandolfini, costs EUR 110 per person for adults, EUR 75 for children from 7 to 12 years old. Suitable for groups up to 8 people.
• The 4-hour experience, inclusive of a guided tour of the Stibbert Museum, the textile painting kit and tour of the Palazzo Pandolfini, costs EUR 150 per person for adults, EUR 90 for children from 7 to 12 years old. Suitable for groups up to 6 people.

Information and reservations: 055 26261 – flo.reservations@fourseasons.com

About Designers Margherita Pandolfini and Ernest Karl Jorns

Margherita Pandolfini was born in Florence but lived most of her life in London, where she studied sculpture and fine arts at the Camberwell College of Arts London. She later began working in many important art galleries and in the fashion industry, before moving back to her native Italy in 2009, and starting up La Serra MK with Ernest Karl Jorns in 2009. Ernest, born in Colombia, began his path in the fashion industry studing architecture in 1986 in Brazil, and specialising in theatre costumes and fashions. In 1996 he moved to Florence and began to work in the textile design industry; he has worked and been lecturer in textile design at the Polimoda school, Fondazione Museo del Tessuto Prato, and European Fashion Academy.

With the creation of their Textile MK Serra, they have hosted study abroad programs for the important Central Saint Martins London, attended several exhibitions and markets, worked for prestigious clients all over the world, and designed special-edition textiles for Bergdorf Goodman.