As the Italian saying goes “ride bene chi ride ultimo” (he who laughs last laughs best), laughter is a waiting game. That is how Risa, which in Italian literally means laughter, was born. Beatrice, a young woman from a small town near Venice, saw the dire state of Italian artisanal laboratories and decided to take matters into her own hands. Unearthing treasures from the past, she discovered the world's most precious out-of-production textiles, scraps, and passementerie. She decided to riusa (reuse) them to create laughter, joy, awareness.