Castle Ceconi in the foothills of the Dolomites, Italy
Fujifilm GFX100SII, GF100-200mm, f11 @ 3 seconds, ISO 80

After our Italy photography tour in October 2024, Tony Hewitt and I dropped into Graphistudio to see their printing and production facility. An hour or so north of Venice by car, it is located in the countryside near Arba on a huge estate and employs around 150 generally local people.

Professional readers will be well aware of what Graphistudio does. Established in 1982, it's probably best known for printing and binding high quality wedding and portrait albums. I first saw Graphistudio's work in the USA at the WPPI trade shows and was very impressed with the quality and style. Many of their designs were to my mind simply beautiful and elegant. They have been on my radar for many years, especially what is now called the Favola portfolio piece wrapped in soft leather.

Tony and I were interested in both the production facility and Ceconi Castle where Graphistudio runs educational workshops and retreats. Little did we know Graphistudio would invite us to stay in the castle itself for a couple of nights.

Graphistudio's Mauricio Arias met us at the production facility and showed us around. It was very impressive. I have no idea how many square metres it covers, but it felt around the size of two football fields inside! And not only do they produce photo albums and photo books in dozens of different styles, they're into printing everything from acrylic blocks for the desk to huge ChromaLuxe metal prints for the wall. Their client base is worldwide and there is a huge shipping and dispatch section to handle these logistics.

As it happened, I had a book in production, so after giving the administrator at the front desk the order number, I was directed to the table in the factory where my project was being hand bound. Yes, hand bound. While Graphistudio is incredibly modern and sophisticated with the latest printing and binding equipment (and even 3D prints its own components like the wall hangers for the back of their wall prints), some of the binding work is by necessity still done by hand.

After seeing the factory, we drove 40 minutes further into the foothills of the Dolomites where Ceconi Castle is tucked away in Arzino Valley. The Neoclassical manor has been a family project for the owner of Graphistudio, Tullio Tramontina - and what an amazing job he has done. Outside, the castle has been beautifully restored; inside its four floors is a purpose-built haven for photography workshops and retreats. Everything is there from presentation rooms, fully equipped studios, extensive wall space for photography exhibitions and a large restaurant downstairs. There is ample room for hundreds of photography students to attend classes and demonstrations - which up until now have been primarily wedding and portrait photography based.

But maybe that will expand. Tony and I are currently in discussions with Mauricio about some 'possibilities' for the future - and we'll let you know as soon as we do!

Me, Mauricio Arias and Tony Hewitt at Ceconi Castle, Italy.