THE BRAND
THE BRAND
C'era una volta... is an Italian label created for newborns through to sixteen year-olds. Delicate, pure and refined, it is a timeless brand dedicated to dress children beautifully, just as they are. Believing always in a soft, comfortable touch, chief designer and founder, Emanuela Nurra, designs each piece with all the love of a passionate mother for her 2 young daughters. Just like how her grandmother and mother, from the south of Italy, Sardinia, loved her and her 2 sisters.
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THE NAME
C'era una volta simply means "Once upon a time" in Italian and it's a simple phrase we often hear during childhood, when parents read stories to their children. We hope each C'era una volta piece will be treasured as a keepsake for your children and the generation to follow.
THE TEAM
Emanuela and Paola met by chance in 2015 in their favorite bakery in Shanghai.
Ever since, they are not only tight by a great friendship, common life and family values, but they also share the same passion for travels, design, fashion and details. Since 2017 they share the same vision for C'era una volta and they passionately work to create their lifetime dream.
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Emanuela Nurra, is the creative soul of C'era una volta. Italian from Sardinia, she grew up surrounded by fabrics and yarns, while she admired her mother and grand mother creating beautiful hand made embroideries and clothes. From Sardinia where she graduated at Accademia of Belle Arti, she embarked on a journey of many cosmopolitan cities. She started with Florence where she studied fashion design at Polimoda. Next she moved to London, Kyoto and Paris to work in luxury retail for Fendi, Dior and Givenchy. Each city enriches her life in a unique way and they all came together in a rich tapestry of design and retail experience. Once in Shanghai, where she lived for seven years, she started designing clothes for her beautiful daughters Emilie and Giulia first, for friends after, and piece after piece until it became... C'era una volta. After Shanghai Emanuela lived in Seoul and since since 2022 she is based in Tokyo where she live with her husband Benjamin and their two lovely daughters.
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Paola Talamini Minotto, is the brand architect of C'era una volta. If she could, she would put everything on an excel sheet. Italian, from Treviso, she grew up surrounded by the beauty of Veneto region. She graduated in Economics in Venice, studied Fashion Marketing in Milan, and got an MBA in Hong Kong. After college, she pursued her lifetime dream to move to New York where she lived for two years, before starting her career in the fashion industry. She has worked in product and retail management for DSquared2, Benetton, Diesel, Burberry and most recently she is cooperating as freelance with several chinese and western brands.
Since 2008 she is based in Shanghai with her husband Edgardo and their lovely daughter Olivia.
OUR VALUES
C'era una volta is a timeless Italian brand, sharing love in its purest form, to inspire moments of innocent joy in children.
A MOMENT OF JOY, A LIFETIME OF LOVE