INTERVIEW WITH ANTONELLA TISSINO

A NICE STORY

Antonella Tissino and Marco Masat

For over 40 years Ziel has been a wellknown name in our sector for its activity in the field of technical instrumentation and, in particular, with regard to the marketing of barometers, thermometers, binoculars, microscopes and telescopes. Ziel was the first to introduce on the Italian market, as from 1994, the American Avocet wrist computers. The marketing agreement for the products of the Finnish company Suunto dates back to 1996 and in 2006 the collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club was born. Over the years, binoculars have become the flagship product, including those with the Italian Alpine Club brand and the company is also beginning to operate in the field of frames with its own collections with classical lines at a reasonable cost, suitable for a wide range of consumers. In 2018, the founders of the company, Baggiani, decided to retire and the future of the company is in danger.

This, however, is a story with a happy ending that comes from an historical employee of the company, Antonella Tissino to whom, on the occasion of their first participation at DaTe in Florence, we asked to tell us how everything happened.

What led you to take over Ziel?

I had been working for the company since 1988, for 30 years, so I had lived the business closely and I had developed a passion for it; when the owners expressed their willingness to retire, I was well acquainted with the true value of Ziel, together with the brand development possibilities which had not yet been fully exploited. The business closure therefore seemed absurd to me. As a result, I made this important decision and together with my partner (and son) Marco Masat, we took the business over. The new Ziel was born on December 13, 2018.

What were the first moves and what does the future hold for you?

The new Ziel obviously continued to deal with the instrumentation, always paying close attention to the quality offered. We are also expanding the offer in the frame field, with collections in line with the current trends, there being an excellent balance between quality, solidity and price, which has been obtained thanks to the technical ability and know-how in design acquired over the years. Consistent with these requirements, we have created a new collection, Alkimia, the result of the union of Italian design with research in the field of materials, allowing us to offer light and flexible models which, at the same time, guarantee high resistance to shock.

Tell us about the collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club.

The ten-year collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club has further developed and expanded into a line of sunglasses, together with glasses for vision and sports, with technical and design characteristics linked to the history of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club). The new CAI Sun & Style and CAI Vista & Style collections were born, designed, developed and produced in Italy, combining the legacy of the mountains with city life. Ziel’s know-how has also been converted into the innovative IR-proof lenses adopted for the line of sports glasses, approved by the Italian Alpine Club. With this cutting-edge technology, we have achieved the maximum eye protection from dangerous radiation given that, in addition to absorbing UV rays, they also protect against infrared rays.

You are now in the launch phase of the Smartee line, tell us about it

What you wear can really affect your mood and vice versa. For this we have created Smartee. A new concept of reading glasses, a stylish accessory that you can renew every day by combining temples and fronts with different shapes and colors. With Smartee you can always wear something different and appropriate with respect to your look and mood. An exclusive patent makes them easy to assemble and disassemble, without sacrificing practicality, lightness and impact resistance. Specially made in a material that comes from Ziel’s technological know-how, all models are non-toxic, hypoallergenic, resistant and flexible. From today it is no longer necessary to always buy something new to renew your look ... Just follow instinct, desire and imagination to always find new combinations of shapes and colors and express a different and original style every day.

VEDERE INTERNATIONAL – September 2020