All in the Family: The Care Applications Team
Care Applications is a textile family in the truest sense.
The company was started by husband and wife Romano Campese and Carmina Ferri in 2015, and their niece, Belén Ferri, recently came aboard, too. Today, Romano has 30 years of professional experience in garment processing and machinery development, and Carmina boasts 25 years of working in the denim industry and machinery development. Their joint venture is as a result of the in-depth experience acquired in the garment industry—especially, as the team say, from the “darker” side of the industry.
Here’s how the Care Applications team is putting their familial bond to work in changing the often unethical and unsustainable processes in mass apparel production.
Carved in Blue: What was your very first impression of the denim business?
Carmina: I was enthusiastic. I didn’t know that much of the technical side, as garment processing was not widely taught at the university where I studied textile engineering, but I immediately felt that this was what I wanted to do. It is quite a complex business, but really interesting, as there are both technical and creative parts, which makes it continuously alive, bright and unpredictable.
Carved in Blue: Did you always want to go into the denim business?
Carmina: Not really…but when I started in this business, my very first project was to study how to process, wash and dye a fabric made from a new fiber called TENCEL® lyocell, which I really fell in love with, and since then I haven’t stopped! I also met my husband Romano thanks to the TENCEL® workshop seminars that we were holding all around the world, in order to explain how to process products made from this fiber, to laundry and dye-house technicians. That is why we were so happy when Carved in Blue asked us to be part of the “All in the Family” histories!
Carved in Blue: What is it like working with relatives in the same company?
Romano: We are a team! This is what we usually say when we face a problem and we find a solution. We have been working many years together and the most important thing is that we respect and admire each other professionally. We are the sum of our experiences and our values, and we get the best out of each other. Now with Belén’s joining, a new blueblood is coming to add more value to the team.
Carved in Blue: When did you realize you were a blueblood?
Carmina: I think that I was born a blueblood! Since I can remember, I always had a pair of jeans. I remember my dad wearing his very used natural jeans every Sunday, going to the mountains that surround my hometown. I did the same, and when I started working in this industry, I felt at home!
Carved in Blue: What has been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
Romano: Our biggest challenge has been to start our own company, Care Applications, but at the same time it has been our best choice, as we have been able to innovate, optimize and reconvert standard processing in the denim industry in the way we wanted: with quality and reliability, but above all, with ethics.
Carved in Blue: What’s the best advice your uncle/auntie ever gave you?
Belén: More than a single piece of advice, something I really appreciate is what I learn every day with Romano and Carmina’s experience. What I do remember is that they told me at the beginning of working with them: “If you enter in the denim industry, you have to love it” and that’s what I’ve done!
Carved in Blue: What do you think the future looks like for the denim industry?
Romano: The future is, without a doubt, heading into a more sustainable industry. Looking at the last 30 years’ evolution and the new technologies, we are only at the beginning of a new era. The synergy between artists and technicians, without forgetting the traditions, will allow the development of a true eco-friendly industry.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Carmina: The three of us believe that someone is Carved in Blue when the work they do in this denim industry signifies a lifestyle, rather than only being a means to make a living. For us it cannot be any other way!