I'm Lorenzo Armati, creator of Switch.
My background encompasses a variety of jobs, from working in a music distribution wholesaler to the artisan carpenter, an art to which I am still attached to today.
Creating and revolutionizing are constants that have always accompanied me.
Unexpectedly, in 2005, I had the opportunity to open my own store, a place where I could express myself and which was surrounded by all my passions.
Without much thought, I quit my job, took out a bank loan and ventured into an unknown world.
The first few years were pretty hard due to the compromise of having to share the company's decision with a partner. This choice proved wrong and I had to learn it the hard way.
I never thought about starting the Switch project to make a lot of money and I always hoped to be able to do what I loved, that could make me feel alive.
I am convinced that if you do what you love with passion, hard work and people like who you are and what you do, success will come.
Success has to do with passion, and what allows you to keep doing what you love: that's it.
I just knew that I wanted to create something that reflected my lifestyle and the values that have been passed on to me by the family. At the same time, I was hoping it was inspiring and identifying for other people.
I always personally follow the selection of the brands we sell in the store. Over the years I have managed to import and promote new brands into the italian market. I was a forerunner of brands that have become famous over time, knocking directly on the company's door. Sometimes the first attempt was unsuccessful, but in others, despite my small reality, the passion I show has meant that good collaborative relationships have been created, strengthened and grown over time.
I have always wanted to keep the Switch image as a container of selected items that 100% reflect my identity. Sometimes I chose what I liked and loved, even knowing it would be harder to sell.
There are many brands among which I could choose that could be seen as "commercial" requests of the moment. I am sure that if just offered those, they would probably sell very well, but would also go against my nature and the Switch mission.
In recent years I have met many people and over time the relationships have strengthened: today there is a small and close-knit group that helps me and Switch to follow the many aspects of running the business, discuss and plan new projects.
Switch is on Facebook and Instagram, and even if I'd rather go for straight, direct relationships, I have to recognize that this is the Internet century, so with the help of some web-talented friends we tried to create an online store with a familiar atmosphere, trying to convey what we do every day in the store, and pamper you from a distance, hoping that you take a chance to identify yourself in our mood, and in what we want to be.
Over time I have been lucky enough to be able to deal with more realities, research trips abroad have increasingly led me to focus on the goal and to strive for a precise, recognizable identity.
I believe that natural curiosity is the starting point, it is the spirit that makes Switch always evolving and that pushes me to continuous research and a proposal for novelty. As Albert Einstein has once said: "I don't have a particular talent, I'm just passionately curious".
