In 2026, Nicoletta Meriglio, R&D Coordinator and Tlab Manager who joined the company for a successful mix of events, the result of a long experience in the sector and a valid network, will celebrate 10 years in Tollegno 1900. From 2016 to now, she contributed to many projects, structured initiatives and development of collections that have not only been able to interpret the constant evolution of the brand but, at the same time, have also opened new areas of growth and development for Tollegno 1900. Creativity, research, sharing, contamination are the pillars on which she structures her activity and that developpes in two different but strongly complementary levels. “Besides being the responsible for the Tlab, a place where our collections are made, swatches are produced, the colour cards are set, customer selections to be shipped all over the world are prepared, yarns are knitted, and new stitches and washing are studied to present our production in the best way – explains Meriglio – my work speaks also the language of research. In addition to developing new ideas, I also coordinate the R&D Team made up of colleagues with technical, production, sales and marketing skills. From the sharing of thoughts, experiences and information, functional solutions take shape to make our service increasingly high-performance and the quality of our product excellent”.
The growth and the development of a brand is therefore the result of a solid teamwork.
I am strongly convinced of this. Together with the group that makes up the Tlab, made up of young girls and more experienced colleagues, we work all together so that the detail and the quality of the product are always better thanks to the sharing of personal skills and point of view. The team, however, is a winner if the rules are few and clear and everyone has the opportunity to feel part of the group and the will to get involved and share aspirations and disappointments. Furthermore, the contribution of our customers is also fundamental who, more and more often, contact us to visit us and to get information on how we work the samples that we present.
Nicoletta how is a collection created?
Being specialized in producing Pure Merino Wool and Harmony being our flagship product, our collections have their own stylistic and expressive continuity. What we pay a lot of attention and that represent our strength is colour. In concrete terms, my commitment is to be able to present our yarns always in a different way with the aim of demonstrate how versatile is pure wool in terms of use and performance
What inspires you in this “mission of uniqueness” that marks each collection ?
In addition to viewing international portals dedicated to trends, I read a lot and I draw interesting ideas from movies, music and art. An inexhaustible pool of inspiration is also offered to me by environment, both urban and natural, the visit to fairs, not only of our sector. Without any doubt also the confrontation with the people is a spur to graft transversal thoughts useful to light the spark of creativity.
What do you think is your talent ?
I believe that my strength is, first of all, being able to understand when something is really interesting to develop a collection, and, consequently, create connections among the different identified elements, so as to draw a perfect mosaic. This strongly visionary side of mine goes hand in hand with an extremely concrete soul: my first thought in front of an idea is how to realize it quickly and not too expensively.
Which is the role for sustainability, innovation and experiment in this creative process?
They are priorities, as is our identity, our Heritage which cannot be ignored. To exemplify: colours are our strength, as well as the obsessive attention to production and attention to details.
Sustainability and innovation are two cornerstones….
The attention to sustainability is maximum, the company has been going in this direction for some time, and our product is so by DNA: what could be more respectful to nature than wool? This yarn, with unique features, comes from a natural process that has no time and which, today, it is even more effective thanks, for example, to Regenerative Wool projects towards which all the most important brands are moving. However the innovation chapter also deserves further study: our staff is in fact strongly committed to making processes and the use of machinery more and more performing.
If you had to tell those who don’t know the brand what distinguishes it from other brands?
Our solid identity is definitely the starting point: we exist since 1900, we have ridden the fashions of each season, often even anticipating them. We make understatement our pride but also the springboard on which to structure avant-garde projects that are the result of the work and professionality of a group of people who try, despite their differences and backgrounds, to simply walk in the same direction. A principle that also animates us in the choice of our partners for the development of the collections that have the same approach and vision as us. A “Tollegno style” that cannot be imitated.
“Tollegno style” which is also the result of the evolution of the company. From your arrival to today, how has it changed?
Changing is part of our DNA, and the premise for achieving increasingly ambitious goals. Strengthened by this awareness, over the years, Tollegno 1900 has been able to structure itself in a more functional way both in terms of processes and logistics and personnel management. Resources are an invaluable asset and being able to foster the connection between figures that work in the same department is the premise for the growth and for facing periods that are not always easy. A further change took place with our entry into Indorama Ventures which allowed us to further highlight some aspects related to the business environment and people.
Let’s take a journey back in time in the last 10 years: is there a moment that you had in the company that has particularly gratified you or contributed to your personal growth ?
Not only one moment, there are some aspects that I usually experience that gratify me. Undoubtedly, having a lot of freedom, being able to choose and propose without conditioning is among the most motivating but also empowering aspects. Not less important is the opportunity to be able to work with a lot of people whom I respect both inside and outside the company and with whom I share doubts, expectations and projects and this pleases me, stimulates me and does not make me feel time that goes by.
