Globalising local repair skills: An Italian SME thinking otherwise in skills transmission

In today’s socio-economic context, artisanal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to navigate the balance between tradition and innovation, particularly in sustaining and transmitting their craft skills. Territory plays a dual role in this process – serving as a reservoir of collective memory and traditional techniques, while also potentially constraining adaptation and innovation. This paper focuses on LaFisarmonica, an Italian craft SME with a long history in accordion making and repair, to explore how skills transmission can be reimagined in the context of musical instrument making and maintenance, where local companies, despite collectively facing a shortage of new recruits, are generally reluctant to collaborate. Drawing on a qualitative, ethnographically informed study, the research examines how LaFisarmonica preserves its heritage while expanding its role in a broader international skills ecosystem through the creation of an accordion-repairing academy. By foregrounding the role of past narratives in sustaining craft traditions, this study shows how preserving artisanal practices today involves more than safeguarding legacy techniques – it requires interweaving past and present through evolving activities that foster diverse and engaged individuals. This dynamic process supports a (re)conceptualisation of skills and helps build a heterogeneous community that might not otherwise come together.