The Goood Tour: 2nd stop Tuscan hills

As we drive down this charming high-heeled boot that is Italy, we chose to make the second stop of our gOOOd Tour in the Tuscan hills, where Goooders found their home away from home at the dreamy Villa Lena. 

We were greeted by the eponymous Lena herself, who gave us a tour of this beautiful, sprawling property. 

Here both nature and culture are cultivated: ancient tradition compliments renewable technology to support the farming of the garden’s grounds, the “orto” looked after by the vigilant Donato. To us, this is one of the several ways that Villa Lena exemplifies a more conscious approach to the holiday experience. 

An artist residency program is another one of the hidden charms of the resort. Tucked away on the Villa Lena Estate, alongside the chic guest accommodation, delicious farm-to-table restaurant and agricultural domain, the artists are a central part of the community life of this hilltop escape. 

We were lucky to meet Chiara Leto, a summer 2020 resident hosted at the Villa for six weeks, who shared with us her experiments with natural dyes on fabric.Thanks to Chiara’s talents and Lena’s vision, we conceived a line of gOOOders x Villa Lena limited edition dresses!

Each of these unique pieces is originally manufactured by Cooperative Alice laboratories, who aim to build an inclusive society through ethical work practices, and then were hand-dyed by Chiara, using only natural dyes extracted from plants foraged in the area surrounding Villa Lena, or even from food scraps from the hotels’ restaurant. 

Whether a guest or an artist, it’s hard to leave Villa Lena without a renewed sense of purpose and a passion for using creativity to inspire and educate others.

Click through to discover more about our escape and what we wore …