The Santori's haberdashery is my supplier since 1972, time of my firs experience with embroidery works after an asian trip, using colored threads and buttons.
The two window shop is to me a source of knowledge, colors, human sympathy from the old couple managing the activity.
Due to the age of the owners and a lack of new generation individuals interested on continuing the activity, the near future of the shop seems to be bleak.  
Two typologies of business have always been very firm in my imagination, first is the artist's shop and second the haberdashery.
The color shop selling all types of pigments, color tubes, smelling glues, for restoration and many interesting to see artist brushes.
The haberdashery, Merceria, has its richness in colors kept in shallow large drawers with well separated uniform sections, each one displaying different color shade, same as in the artist' shop. These are the common sections of my favorite shops. Colours, colours, colours.
The yellow shop sign reads "haberdashery" with no owners name, but for the customer is enough to push the glass door to receive a smiling welcome by the affable, competent and ready to help owners. One could say that The Santoris sell colors and gift human warmth to the customers that appreciate it in these arid social time, where people is always in a hurry, incapable to appreciate the details of life...
The painting.Titled Eptathlon Metaphora, the Metaphor of the Seven, is a mixed media on masonite board 72 X 54 cm, acrylics and embroidery threads, in a 20th century gilded framing, having the same age of the shop, formerly belonging to my maternal grandfather, the sculptor Primo Mancini.
Seven different needles, circular mattress needle, carpet needle, upholstery needle, packing needle, sailmaker needle etcetera, with bright and mobile tail-like threads are in a dark environment, competing hardly to everyone reach its red button target. Victory will kiss the strongest and fastest fighter needle only, with sometimes surprising results.
Three simple objects, the needle, the thread and the button, when separated are simple things almost useless, but when the three are joint and used for a purpose they become very useful reaching a different function, much higher than the previous status. All the above connection is like if the three objects are willing to suggest a metaphor of a new subject ' life.