The challenge
Martina Vidal Venezia is a master artisan that has been preserving and innovating the art of Burano lace for four generations. The atelier creates unique home linens, combining passion, tradition, and quality. Over the years, the store has transformed into a concept store where it can convey its experience, knowledge, and skill in lace-making, a symbol of Italian craftsmanship around the world, to a mainly international clientele.
The Martina Vidal Venice Atelier faces the challenge of preserving the ancient art of Burano lace in a rapidly changing world. The main objective is twofold: on the one hand, to raise awareness among the younger generations, who are often distant from artisan traditions, of the intrinsic value of this craftsmanship; on the other, to find innovative ways to pass on the complex techniques involved, reaching potential apprentices and customers globally. The company aims to preserve this priceless cultural heritage, projecting it into the future through contemporary languages and tools.
The aim is to safeguard and pass on the history and tradition of Burano lace through formats and tools that are in step with the times, respecting what are the new uses and market demands regarding the product.
The solution: "Re-live Burano," a journey through time to immerse yourself in the art of lace-making between past, present, and future.
The "Ri-vivi Burano" project was created to meet this need. Originating from the Upskill Venezia initiative (created with the support of Fondazione di Venezia and sponsored by Confindustria Venezia and Camera di Commercio Venezia Rovigo), the initial concept was developed by students at ITS FITSTIC in Bologna. Together with the students, we created an initial prototype with a new experiential visit concept, allowing visitors to the store, as well as those who are further away, to discover the unique features of lace through an interactive virtual reality time room.
The next step was to combine the prototype with a company mentoring program in which the Upskill 4.0 team collaborated with Vitruvio Virtual Reality to refine the virtual tour and bring the prototype to market.
Wearing a VR headset, visitors to the Martina Vidal Venezia atelier or exhibition stand can explore three virtual environments that recount the art of lace-making through the past (Burano at the beginning of the century), the present (the atelier today), and the future (the potential and innovative applications of this product of excellence).
Virtual Reality: a bridge between craftsmanship and visitors that goes beyond simple sales
Virtual Reality is establishing itself as a powerful tool for promoting cultural heritage and craftsmanship. Its ability to create immersive experiences allows it to overcome physical and temporal barriers, transporting users to different places and times. For artisan businesses such as Martina Vidal Venezia, VR offers a unique opportunity to tell their story, showcase the complexity and beauty of the production process in an engaging and memorable way, and position themselves on the market as an innovative company committed to preserving culture. This technology not only captures the attention of a younger, more international audience, but also allows the intrinsic value of the artisan product to be communicated, something that is often difficult to convey through traditional means, stimulating the curiosity of virtual visitors to physically visit the atelier in Burano, transforming the digital experience into real contact.
"The project not only allowed us to see a craft that is part of our daily work, such as lace-making, with new eyes, but it also helped us understand how to carry this knowledge into the future," said Marta Perissinotto of Martina Vidal.
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Sources
Statista, Grand View Research
Notes
The idea for this project came from a prototype created by studentsat ITS Adriano Olivetti (formerly Fitstic) as part of the Upskill Venezia project, an initiative carried out by the Fondazione di Veneziain collaboration with Upskill 4.0, with the support ofConfindustria Veneziaand theVenice Rovigo Chamber of Commerce.
The project development for the solution's go-to-market was carried out by Upskill 4.0 with Vitruvio Virtual Reality.
