Verona is a small city where, at least by sight, we all know each other a bit.
I’ve known Angela for a couple of years, since she and Elisa (you'll meet her soon in our interviews) decided to open their store Cèleste and contacted me to include Luce among their brands.
However, we had crossed paths many times before, in the streets of the city center, and I always thought to myself that she had that somewhat Parisian beauty: bangs, a clean, natural face, an essential yet super chic look.
Angela was born in Mantua but lives in Verona for love.
What was it like settling into a new city?
I won't deny that I was a bit sad at first. In Mantua, I knew more or less everyone; I would walk through the city and stop to chat with a lot of people. In my first year in Verona, I barely knew anyone, and I found myself thinking, "What am I doing here? I had my life in Mantua for thirty years."
In reality, over time, it wasn't that difficult to settle in. Back then, I worked at Concept, a store in the city center, and we were a close-knit group. We'd go out for aperitifs and dinners, and that's how I started to meet new people, and Verona has now become for me what Mantua once was.
Tell me how the idea of opening your store, Céleste, came about?
Giovanni, my boyfriend, and Elisa’s husband, were childhood friends.
The four of us started going out together, traveling; we went to Paris, New York, Mykonos. I loved being a shop assistant, but I was starting to want to do something of my own, because the satisfaction and commitment of having your own project is something different. I felt ready. So one day, talking with them, Alberto and Giovanni suggested that Elisa and I do it together, and we liked the idea. We looked at each other and immediately said: “Let’s try!”
How does having your own project make you feel today?
It's something beautiful. In the morning, I arrive at the shop and I'm happy; I feel at home. There are always problems, of course, those never go away, but I believe that as long as there is love, as long as you enter a place where you feel "in your place" because everything is custom-made, and I feel Céleste is custom-made for me, then you are happy. Also, I get along great with Elisa; she has found a way to understand me, that is, she knows how to handle me, which has definitely changed my way of being. Before, I would wake up in the morning, maybe on the wrong side of the bed, and sometimes I would arrive at work nervous, where I would find Elisa who, systematically, with a few words and her spontaneity, would cheer me up. Today, thanks to this too, I am more serene and rarely get angry.
What is your LIGHT?
Light, more than things, is situations and people. In this period of my life, light is dinners at home with my historical friends from Mantua. We don't see each other often, unfortunately once a month, but we are completely relaxed and in total absence of judgment towards each other. When we are together, I feel good; I reach my comfort zone. I don't like to surround myself with acquaintances; I'm more for true friendships and I'm one of those all-or-nothing people in relationships. Then my family is a lot of my light. Then my grandmother and, he was particularly so, also my grandfather who is no longer with us. Then Mirtilla, my poodle, and Giovanni, my boyfriend. They are always many smiles. If I had to describe my relationship with him, I would tell you that it is made of many laughs and games. And there is nothing brighter than a smile.
What's in your bag?
Keys and Céleste business cards. Then cigarettes, a diary where I jot down appointments and deadlines, a small notebook, a pen, lip balm and lipstick, various samples of creams and perfume.
Could you tell me about your beauty routine?
I love coconut oil; I use it to remove makeup and as a balm on my lips. Among my favorite products are micellar water and cream, both day and night, by Filorga. For makeup, I use bronzer, blush, eyebrow elixir, and I never leave home without mascara.
Angela wears: black lurex ASTRID dress.
If you want to get to know Angela, you can find her here: @_angela_gallo
Her shop, Céleste, can be found here: @celeste_verona
All photos of Angela via Greta Casagrande
