Mario Bemer has had a rocky road since his brother passed away around 10 years ago. Having worked with Stefano as his right-hand man throughout Stefano’s career, the passing of his brother meant that it was finally time to go at it alone and start his own brand and continue the legacy of the Bemer name but with his own ideas. And so he did. He quickly created a new brand, a clever one, and opened up shop on Via dei Serragli in Florence, Italy.
His shop was beautiful. His shoe designs kept the spirit of the Bemer name but clearly with Mario’s flavor injected into each design. There were many that I loved with one in particular. But we won’t dwell on those. His quick progress was very promising. But with quick progress comes help to get there. Mario Bemer was not alone in getting to this point. He had a partner. And like any relationship, the potential to break down was a real possibility. Sadly, it did. And Mario Bemer stepped away from the brand he built, with his name attached to it. And this is where it got confusing for many.
If you Google Mario Bemer Shoes, the first thing that comes up is his old brand. His new brand is below that. As a consumer that will be tricky to know which one to go to if you care about being serviced by the brand that Mario is actually attached to. But Mario is now solely attached to Mario Bemer USA.
Mario Bemer has been married to a lovely American lady, named Sandra, for as long as I have known Mario, and even longer than that. So, when he stepped away from his first company he decided to set up shop in the US, specifically NY, where Sandra is from. Hence the name Mario Bemer USA. He has a showroom in Queens where you can make an appointment to see him, the shoes and get a fitting to place an order.
Mario splits his time between Florence and NY as his production is in Italy and he is still very much hands-on, indicating that everything in his new brand is 100% of his creation and choosing. His past experiences have made him understand how important it is for him to be fully in control, not only of the business but also of production. And I fully understand that sentiment. The phrase ‘too many chefs in the kitchen’ was created for a purpose and it more often than not rings true than it rings false. So, now Mario is back on the rise and you can expect to see a lot more of him!
Stay tuned as I unbox some of his wonderful hand welted collection.
Website: http://www.mariobemerusa.com/wp/
Main Instagram: https://instagram.com/mario.bemer?igshid=NjIwNzIyMDk2Mg==
2nd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mario_artisan_florence/?hl=en
Photography courtesy of Paolo Matteoni: https://www.instagram.com/paolomatteoni/?hl=en
My two pairs of favorite shoes are from Mario: his all grey Chukka and the blue Mark, I got them in 2016 (after Hugo Jacomet and Sonja’s recommendation) and Mario was so cool, helpful and friendly! I’ll be ready for the first Fitzpatrick/M.Bemer collab!
Thank you for sharing Bernie. Mario makes great stuff!
A matching belt is very nice; but a matching shoe horn? That’s amazing!
Mario has skills 😉
Hi Justin,
I’m Luca Nardini, the owner and director of the company that owns the Mario Bemer “brand”.
We are very happy to read an article that finally clarifies once and for all that our company has nothing more to do with Mr. Mario Bemer from 2018, unfortunately the article is 80% true because Mr. Bemer since 2013 until 2018 was working for the company which held the brand Mario Bemer Firenze and not for a his own old company.
Infact he only owned a small minority share and within which he was a normal employee with no decision-making position other than that of welcoming customers to the shop, cutting models and being the front-man. He was just present in the shop 24/7 never being involved in the production process (as established before creating this company and in full agreement with Mr. Bemer).
I understand that this working agreement certainly could have been the reason why he moved away in 2018 and why he wanted to embark on his own path, we are very glad that he did.
We will go on with the “Mario Bemer Firenze” in which we have invested time and a lot of passion in it. We are talking about the “brand” and not the person (as defined in the article) because the brand is made up of people who actually produce and create footwear with the highest quality and dedication since 2013 till today. I am very happy to read that some customers commenting your article who buied shoes from our “brand” in 2016 are really satisfied with them because the people and the artisans who made shoes for them are still the same and they are still part of our team. It is to understand that one single men could realise shoes for all our customers all around the world.
I am not directly involved in the production process because I am more involved in the administrative and marketing part, but I am the fifth generation of shoemakers in my family and my father manages the branch of production. We have a long tradition of knowledge of how creat shoes. So if Mr. Bemer today manages his production, he can easily do it just branding his shoes as “Mario Bemer Usa” and not our brand name to avoid creating so much confusion. And he can does it obly in this way because “Mario Bemer Usa” is the only brand that his wife’s company owns and it is registered only for the United States market.
Customers will value and decide by themselves which footwears and which collections will like them more. They will compare us with all the other footwear companies of the world and not only Mr. Mario Bemer. Time and the market will show the best.
We are always available for a comparison unboxing because we are very sure about the very hig quality of our products which are still handcrafted today and certainly produced by us since the beginning.
Best regards
Luca Nardini
Mario Bemer Firenze (The Brand
I am very sorry for the situation here brought forth publicly by Mr. Nardini regarding the Brand “Mario Bemer Firenze”. I believe, however, that this is an opportunity to clarify the circumstances that led to the current situation.
I have worked with my brother Stefano Bemer in the footwear industry since 1999 and following Stefano’s death on July 28, 2012; I continued to produce shoes, this time under my own name.
I personally registered the Figurative Trademark “Mario Bemer Firenze” on 11.07.2013 identified with number 011976586 for Nice Classes No. 14, 18, and 25.
On 11.09.2013 a company called Bairon srl was incorporated in Rome of which the shares were divided into: 20 % Mario Bemer and 80 % Mr. Gabriele De Bono.
In the Memorandum of Association of the Company I contributed, the Trademark indicated above in the Company.
After a few months, Mr. De Bono transferred his shares to Mr. Luca Nardini in the 40 % share, and the other 40 % to Mr. Nicola Sacchetti. Since then, Mr. Nardini became the Sole Director and Legal Representative of the Company. In 2017, Nardini acquired Mr. Sacchetti’s shares and remained in his previous position with 80 % of the shares.
After this passage, Nardini sold his shares without my knowledge and without my being able to exercise the right of first refusal, to the L&L Company, owned and administered by Mr. Silvano Nardini, Luca’s brother.
In June 2018 as a result of divergence about the management of the Company, I totally ceased my collaboration with the company itself, requesting moreover to be able to divest my shares.
I then Registered the Trademark “Mario Bemer USA” on June 5, 2019 identified with No. 6192583 for Nice Classes No. IC 018. US 001 002 003 022 041. G & S: Leather bags and wallets; Leather briefcases; Leather handbags. FIRST USE: 20190515. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20190515 IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Leather shoes. FIRST USE: 20190515. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20190515
Since then I began to produce, as I have always done, shoes, with the objective of offering a quality and service to which I have always been accustomed with the goal of offering unique products both in the quality of the materials, in the production technique and in the fit and comfort of the shoe.
I now learn, from this letter that Nardini published, that Family Nardini has been making shoes for no less than 5 generations (so approximately over 100 years) and I wonder why he is not proud to put his name on work carried on by his own family?
My experience, on the other hand, is unfortunately limited to about 30 years, but I still try to offer a product of the highest quality, an element that is constantly recognized by my many Customers.
I would like to point out that my Image and my name can be used for the promotion and sale of shoes and leather derivatives, all over the world, although they cannot, for the moment, be Registered as a Trademark in Europe, Japan as the ownership of the same turns out to be Bairon srl.
So much is owed for the sake of accuracy and truth.
Mario Bemer