“We have been in the retail business for more than 30 years”, says Lucia Pisani, owner of the BiOma store in downtown Padua. "I have never focused on a particular style or product, but ranged from table to kitchen from textiles to furnishings, ethnic and Northern European designs looking for quality, taste and reliable companies, setting the work on items and collections that can be reassorted and continued. My clients recognize these skills, which is why today, even more so than in the past, I put emphasis on the search for natural materials and their related processing, so that every item we use, from the glass to the bath mat, are healthy and soundly sourced."

What values does the store focus on?

Our values are related to family: anyone who enters our store should feel "at home."

How does your store differ from others?

The strength of my space is that it welcomes you like a home, you are magically guided to discover objects, textiles, paintings, plants in a mixture of art and nature. Lucia Pisani’s BiOma is like this because I experience it every day: every day I wake up, enter my store and move objects around, playing with colors and personalizing them at all times so that my customers have always the opportunity to find something new.

How do you choose items to include in the store for your customers?

Mainly by visiting the most important fairs in this field. At the fairs, I see innovative products, check the quality of products first hand, and always find new inspirations.

How do you expect the retail world to change in the coming years?

I believe that online sales will gain more and more importance in the retail world. Next to my store, there are a lot of apartments, and in recent years I have noticed a significant increase in package deliveries directly to your home. Nevertheless, for a small business like mine, I see it as hard and difficult, plus I remain an advocate of human relationships and the pleasure of going into a store to shop. Just to entice people to come into the store, I have been promoting events and meetings for a long time: from a book presentation in the courtyard to the display of small themed exhibitions featuring artists/craftsmen/ to promote the area and make people know/be known.

Would you advise a young person to open a store?

I think so, however, it is crucial to have a goal. Mine has always been to carry on an activity that becomes a journey in beauty and creativity, a constantly changing setting in terms of proposal and invitation to the public to choose quality and durability.

If you could describe your store in one sentence, what would it be?

An inspirational and charming space.