OUR TILE TEAM

Bernardo Vallefuoco, Co Founder & Technical Specialist, was born and raised in Naples, Italy where he apprenticed with local artisans, learning how to honor and restore the ancient architecture of Italy. In 1990, he moved north to Florence and founded PROGETTO CASA RESTAURI, specializing in highly detailed building restoration, until his move to the USA in 1998. His previous projects include some of the most visible spaces in Tuscany, such as the Santa Maria Novella Train Station, department stores, homes, and many others buildings in Florence’s historic center, as well as residences throughout Empoli. As the installation advisor of Vallefuoco Contractors, his hands-on approach to running the business ensures that installations are carried out using methods passed down from true old world artisans, as well as the modern skill set from current industry standards of the United States. Bernardo, like our installers, gets his hands dirty each day. This keeps him grounded, and highly involved in the artistry and planning of our installations, whether behind the scenes or overseeing jobs in the field.

Gianna Vallefuoco, Co-Founder & Design Specialist, made her way to Florence to study oil painting, after double majoring in Spanish and Psychology. She became involved in the Florentine contemporary art community. After briefly exhibiting her work in figurative oil painting there, she was accepted to The Art Institute of Chicago to further her art career. However, destiny intervened and she opted to start a family with Bernardo and dedicate her time to their first masterpiece, who was born in 1999, the same year they launched Vallefuoco Contractors. Gianna still uses her art and psychology background to support her clients in decision-making, establishing style and layout, and creating Intentional Spaces. She is on the Board of the National Tile Contractors Association, serving as Regional Director for MD, VA, WV, & DE. She is also a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and Speaker, trained in Mindful Self-Compassion and Interpersonal Neurobiology, speaking regularly on creative mindset, mindful leadership, and crisis intervention to diverse audiences across the country. Although her student base has expanded well beyond the construction industry, her Vallefuoco Contractors clients are still a priority for her. 

Diane Ford, Office Manager, is the glue that holds our office together. She carries years of experience in Hawaii as Office Manager for a ranch community, where she implemented an online request system for managing design review requests and new home builds. She is a great asset to our whole team, as a seasoned professional with over twenty years of customer service experience and a decade as an executive/administrative assistant. She wears many hats at Vallefuoco Contractors. With prior experience in human resources, her focus is always on forging lasting relationships. She addresses the needs of our installers, clients, and fellow tradespeople. Her primary role is ensuring clients are supported. Diane is the first voice you hear when you call our office. She’s involved in putting together all bidding information to ensure every detail is addressed before a job is initiated. She also schedules installations and keeps clients advised of job details through installation completion.

 

Our Installation Team of tile installers and helpers holds decades of experience creating art with tile. We are fortunate to have some of the top artisans in our industry installing for us, some for well over 2 decades with our company. With combined skills from the USA, Italy, France, Hungary, and Latin America, we’ve built a team of global tile installation professionals. Each brings their unique training and creativity to our team. A successful installation is always a team process, involving communication, planning, decision making, and cooperation. Our detail-oriented installers are constantly honing their skills as new methods, products, and tools are introduced to our industry. We consider tile installation to be a creative art, not just a trade. Our team works tirelessly to ensure we finish our projects using best practices, so we can satisfy our clients and honor the accompanying work of our fellow tradespeople. Skilled labor has become a scarce resource in the USA, and the national average age of a tile installer is 55, and aging upward. We hope to provide new opportunities for the next generation of tile artisans. We’re always looking to expand our installation team. Please contact us if you are a tile installer or helper who is looking to expand your skill set and work with us.

 

Our Community has played a huge role in building our business and our other passion projects, including Disability Inclusion Guild – a 501(c)3 dedicated to breaking social barriers for people with disabilities. Vallefuoco Contractors would not be here today without the support of our local DC, MD, VA community and our national industry tile partners, such as NTCA and CTEF. Gianna is a member of the NTCA Consumer Education Committee and Five Star Residential Advisory Committee, educating and assisting tile consumers on a national level. Locally, our trade partners and our residential clients have stuck by our side for over 25 years. Our clients are part of our village, and bringing education and awareness to each of them is our intention. While tile installation is our line of work, human connection is what sustains our company and our passion for continuing to grow and learn

Please e-mail us with any questions.