Women Doing Cool Shit in Italy: Skyler Mapes
We’ve always been obsessed with connecting our travelers to Italy-based talent, both in the travel industry and outside of it. It’s high time we extended the intros to our digital community.
Meet Skyler, the co-owner of Calabria-based, Italian olive oil brand EXAU and co-writer of The Olive Oil Enthusiast.
A Force
For someone living in a relatively quiet part of Italy - Calabria - Skyler Mapes makes an impressive amount of international noise. With her expertise, passion and a damn great product, her entrepreneurial journey has captured the attention of Forbes, Food and Wine and Oprah, who put EXAU on her favorite things list. Always with a quip and a great recipe, together with her husband and co-Founder Giuseppe Morisani, Skyler navigates all aspects of their business from harvesting the family trees to getting their beautiful bottles on the shelves of retailers like Crate & Barrel.
We often trade Italian entrepreneurial stories (sometimes wins, sometimes headaches!) and Skyler’s spark and professionalism are inspirational. Being friends with a creator like her has some incredible perks… like seeing an incredible project come together. We were lucky to see some advance artwork for Skyler and Giuseppe’s upcoming book ‘The Olive Oil Enthusiast’! We can’t wait to get our hands on a copy of the comprehensive guide to olive oil. Part Italian story, part cookbook with recipes for appetizers, pasta, sauces, and desserts, Skyler’s talent and dedication goes into every page and each bottle.
Our Q & A with Skyler
What was the light bulb moment behind EXAU?
In 2016 Giuseppe was cruising through the olive oil section of a local high-end market and was not impressed with the selection. So he asked his mom to send him some oil, but then our friends began asking if they could have some too. That's what sparked his idea to start an olive oil company and begin by selling just to friends and family.
When Giuseppe and I worked our first olive harvest together in 2017 we didn't have a name for our brand. But we knew three things for sure:
The product had to be amazing, something we knew we could pull off since Giuseppe's family has been producing olive oil for almost a century!
It had to feel good, almost have a soul, and evoke emotion. We wanted people to really connect with us and feel like they were almost meeting the trees.
The product had to be really beautiful, something that people wanted to have in their kitchens and show to their friends and family.
That was more than enough to work with. Then one late night during harvest Giuseppe bolted off the couch and yelled Ex Albis Ulivis. Which was obviously way too long so we shortened it to EXAU.
What elements of running a business and living your life in Italy feel like a joy? What has been a surprise?
The freedom brings me the most joy and I'm so incredibly grateful. I worked a 9-6 for years at several jobs with commutes and was not very happy. I used to listen to audiobooks about entrepreneurs who built their side hustles while working full-time. And I've always wanted to own my own company, build my own schedule, and be able to travel if I wanted to. So to have that now is amazing and I do not take it for granted.
The biggest surprise has been that I actually don't want to travel as much as I thought I would want to! Maybe it's because I'm so much more fulfilled and content or enjoy the everyday pleasures so much more. That's not to say that everything is all sunshine and roses. There are always going to be hurdles or problems in life and I'm a firm believer in choosing the better problems.
What is the hardest part of running an Italian-based business?
Ha! There are a few things. I've found that in professional settings Italians often obsess over social status, criticize quickly, and give a lot of unsolicited advice. There's an expectation to just sort of nod and kindly agree. This goes against my core beliefs and the fundamental way I like to do business. And personally, I don't take advice from those that don't have experience in my industry or don't have the things that I want in life.
In addition, things are very slow in Italy and a lot of businesses don't know when to say no. I can deal with the slow part because that's an easy fix with proper planning. But businesses not knowing when to say no is a huge issue because if you have to meet a certain timeline and someone says yes and doesn't pull through it can throw a huge wrench in your entire supply chain.
Thankfully, we are at a point where we have a pretty streamlined system with very reliable vendors. But it took years to get to this point.
Can you share an EXAU moment or professional accomplishment that made you proud?
Easy! Making it onto Forbes 30 Under 30 and signing our book deal. These were moments that I felt solidified me position within my industry and really validated all the work I've been doing with EXAU.
Forbes 30 Under 30 was incredible because it opened my professional network immensely and allowed me to reach out to other professionals who I would not have had access to otherwise. This is an immense privilege. Just a few years ago vendors and other business owners wouldn't even email me back. Now I get responses and other businesses are much more willing to work with me.
I've always wanted to write a book. And in 2021 we signed a book deal with Ten Speed, an imprint of Penguin Random House the largest publisher in the world. In addition, I spent three months searching for a kickass literary agent, someone who would truly advocate for us and we found her! It took 1 1/2 years to write The Olive Oil Enthusiast, but it was worth it. It's everything we would tell a customer if we could sit down and talk to them for hours. The book is beautiful, with hand illustrations, and I think it will help thousands of readers better understand the world of olive oil.
What is an Italian travel tip you can share with Stellavision travelers?
Do a road trip through southern Italy, you will not regret it. My favorite drive is Amalfi coast to Calabria to Sicily. If you're going to Calabria make sure to stop off in Reggio Calabria and Scilla! Some of the best gelato I've ever had is from Bar Cesare, just across from the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, in Reggio Calabria. Then you can walk down the lungomare and gaze across the strait of Messina to Sicily. On a clear day you can see the people walking along the lungomare in Messina.
What’s on your Italian travel wishlist?
To be honest, I'm currently obsessing over exploring more of Calabria right now and I eventually want to spend more time in Sicily. I feel like there are loads of undiscovered corners in the southwestern part of Italy.
Calabria in particular is on the verge of having her big moment. She hasn't been centerstage for Italian tourism yet and it's about time she gets more attention. I believe showing the spotlight on Calabria will finally force Italy to reconcile with the way they left the region behind and failed to develop adequate public transportation and highways in the south. The fact there's no real highway between Puglia and Calabria, the regions that produce most of the olive oil in the country, is an absolute joke.
And I think the only way to remedy this is for Italy to see how much money it's losing on tourism in Calabria because there are only so many rental cars available. And the local trains aren't enough. Seeing Calabria now before the region gets more developed is an incredibly special experience.
Shop EXAU & ‘The Olive Oil Enthusiast’
In a few short years, the quality of Skyler & Giuseppe’s olive oil has captured attention from Italy to Texas and onto Oprah’s favorite things - they’re showing North Americans how delicious and wonderful Calabrian products can be! Here’s how to shop:
North American delivery of the latest EXAU harvest here.
Pick up a bottle in person at select American retailers.
Preorder ‘The Olive Oil Enthusiast’ here.