Archivi tag: bologna

PERCHE’ NO Jewels

Galleria 08/06/2020 Donatella

“If you can dream it you can do it.” W. Disney

Beginning.

Silvia Tagliasacchi: I am the third child of a Bolognese family. Like all the youngest of a family, I perhaps had the role too of breaking family patterns. Or at least to strongly question them! This has made my first 30 years of life tiring and beautiful together.

The idea of creating jewelry dates back to 15 years ago. But I never would have imagined to take it seriously and work on it to create jewelry lines, with an accurate style and a studied concept.

I had a wonderful trip to Thailand and by chance… Can you believe it… I found a flyer advertising about a goldsmith course for tourists. It all took place at a teacher’s home, every afternoon for a week.

It was a beautiful experience.

I immediately fell in love with all those unusual work tools and the art of governing fire so precisely that I could melt and weld metals. In short, it was so engaging that the return backpack contained at least 10 kg of equipment, including a goldsmith’s column drill!

Years later I created my brand with a very unusual name. A name that comes exactly from the question “Why not? (PERCHE’ NO)” I question myself at a time in life that required a job and existential change. I thought that the question represented exactly what I wanted to become: “PERCHE’ NO (Why not)… Can’t it be done? Why can’t I call into question the choices of my first 40 years of life? Why can’t I bet on myself? Why can’t I think of working while having fun or… In a almost subversive way… Having fun working? Feeling that I didn’t have a real answer to this question, that there was no reason why I couldn’t really change my life, this opened up truly unexpected horizons.

What’s so special in your work?

I make modular and reversible jewels.

I play with shapes and colors in order to have a single piece that can be transformed, to give more wearability. I make them by hand using metals and goldsmith’s techniques, along with oriental papers -worked and aged- to make them part of the metal. But I don’t think that the peculiarity of my works lies in the technique. Rather, it is the message they carry: you can change. I am convinced that our form (of human beings) has infinite mutation possibilities. We are born with the gift of transformation and we can reach this freedom. Even that of becoming asymmetric. Beauty is in the creativity of opening ourselves to transformation. Seeing that things can take other shapes or colors. And maybe at first glance you hadn’t even noticed. Here it is. To adorn yourself with something that reminds us of this amazing ability… All-female… It seemed beautiful to me.

Where does your passion come from?

I have always loved working with my hands, to create using my imagination. Houses, shelters, tools… anything. Then I fell in love with some materials and explored them with the adolescence inexperience and the tenacity of the self- taught. By force or luck I have always been an experimenter. My training and my studies, for the most disparate reasons, have always been the most distant from the artistic/artisan field. By force of things, I am mainly self-taught and thanks to continuous experimentation I could always learn more: hours and hours of creative errors and instructive frustrations.

I think working with my hands is a need, as well as a passion.

It relaxes me, opens my mind to a constant changing perspectives job. Sometimes tiring, sometimes enthusiastically.

Difficulties.

The biggest difficulty was certainly changing my career path and starting to do what I wanted: using my imagination and my hands. It was a choice I made when I already had a family and children and when common sense said that I had to move towards to a safe job and salary. This decision required a great deal of courage and confidence in my abilities and in life. After taking this leap into the dark, everything developed with great fluidity. Which does not mean without problems and difficulties, but always accompanied by solutions and possibilities.

Your goals.

For the moment, the biggest goal is to live off my work. It is about waking up every morning without the effort of having to go to work. It is the feeling to be a free and lucky woman.

Suggestions to someone who wants to start a business!

Well… Go headlong, choose good masters and allies, and never stop being curious.

Future.

Traveling, traveling traveling. A training trip to learn craft and artistic techniques, scattered around the globe. An unhurried journey, to fill my eyes with beauty… Then I find myself fantasizing about international fairs and building an online sales network.

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AGLIO OLIO PILI PILI!

Immagine 16/12/2016 Donatella

“Respectful unification of tradition with new elements from far away can bring great innovation at the table and to society.”

Three very interesting personalities in this project. How did all begin and why have you all decided to start this path together?

This journey kicked off two years ago as a result of the brainstorming of three women who have lived in Bologna for more than 10 years — me, my sister Christine and our friend Tatiana. We have come together to celebrate the connections (Incontri) between our land or lands of origin and the place we call home today, Bologna.

How do we do this?

Aglio Olio Pili Pili is a book that celebrates cultural integration through the food cultures of Italian native, émigré and immigré families, using both local and imported, established and unconventional, culinary techniques and ingredients. The project’s editorial productions, community events, laboratories, and related multimedia explore and reinforce the notion that the most social, intimate and lasting encounters between different cultures take place over a meal.

odetteboyaperdeshabillemagazine — Odette Boya – Co-author of Aglio Olio Pili Pili

You spent your lives in so many countries, totally different from each other. How have these countries influenced you as a woman and influence every day your project?

Speaking for myself, the places I have lived and worked have had the greatest influence by far on my career and my style of doing things. A communications specialist, editor and writer, I have worked for universities, think tanks, governmental agencies, and companies in the U.S., Europe and Africa. I have had the tremendous opportunity to live and work in the inspiring cities of Montreal, Washington D.C., Paris, Gaborone, Kinshasa, Rome and now Bologna. All of these experiences have enabled me to see, hear and taste the world, and to develop expertise as a communications professional. The late novelist Chinua Achebe said it best: ‘The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.’

Through Aglio Olio Pili Pili I have found a delicious way to express my multicultural perspective and approach to life.

What is the message behind Aglio Olio Pili Pili?

It all began with one diabolical ingredient, the habanero pepper, the main ingredient of Congo’s famous pili pili.
My husband Vincenzo and I always stocked our pantry with the ingredients for aglio olio e peperoncino— a basic Italian meal of spicy spaghetti. Thanks to my parents, we were even luckier, we always had a jar of pili pili in the refrigerator. Early on in our love story we discovered that these diabolically spicy red habaneros prepared Congolese style were no match for the dry ground peperoncino. Thus was born our signature dish, aglio olio pili pili. It is a dish which has inspired this project. Two people, one couple, the fusion of unexpected yet simply delightful and exciting ingredients, one meal bringing together three continents.

Who are the people you would to target with your message?

To date, our target audience is Italy and more specifically Emilia Romagna since our recent book, Aglio Olio Pili Pili: Cibi e culture tra origini e future si incontrano a Bologna published in Italian this year by Morellini Editore, Milano, explored all of these themes locally. We are also very present in local multicultural events like the annual Festa Multietnica in Bologna as well as other small events we organize in Bologna’s lovely piazze or in other spaces like the Erbario of Coop Alleanza 3.0 or at in The Bologna Museum of Modern Art (MAMbo).

However, I would like to extend the concept and the project to other regions of Italy. The presence of Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Europarliamentarian and former Minister of Integration in the Italian government, and author of the preface of our book, at our official book launch in September has inspired me to begin to analyse these topics and share the message not only at the local level, but at the European and international level.

How is it possible that cooking together or eating together always unite the most different personalities? Unfortunately it is so difficult to apply it to a larger scale.

I don’t believe that sharing a meal can always unite people from very different backgrounds. But it’s important as a first step. In our recent book, along with about 30 recipes based on our feature interviews, there is also a ‘Recipe for Integration’. It is a playful addition to the book, but it has an important message about curiosity, open- mindedness and persistence in the application of any large scale integration initiative.

What is so special about Bologna, the city where you decided to live?

Bologna is a rare gem. Not only at the Italian level but broadly speaking. It is a city where different ideas co-exist and evolve. Why? That is a complex question but I would begin by saying that it is because it is home to the oldest university in Europe, it is an epicenter of innovation in terms of mechanical engineering, and it is a point of reference for its rich artistic and musical heritage. Today Bologna is known as a university town, populated with students from all over Italy and the rest of the world. As our Brazilian interviewee has noted in the book: “In Bologna there is a healthy spirit of different things co- existing in the same space which you do not see in other places in Italy.” This reality has provided fertile ground for our project.

Is it a coincidence that your life revolves around the topic “Food”, thinking about this project, the book and your UN profession?

It is no coincidence. Food is nourishment. Food is celebration. Food is love. This is what we all live for. And yes, this year I was employed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a communications specialist and am happy to link themes I was introduced to there to our project, where relevant. For example, The United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses, crops harvested solely for dry grain. For this reason we couldn’t resist making mention of pulses, especially in the context of this book’s theme: sustainable and innovative foods. Many of the dishes— both familiar and new— that we’ve encountered thanks to the Aglio Olio Pili Pili community feature these nutritious seeds as protagonists, from Fatteh bel djaj in Lebanon (chick peas), to a traditional Moros y Cristianos in Cuba (black beans) to a festive soup to ensure a prosperous new year in Brazil (lentils).

Next projects, events, ideas, collaboration you are planning with your team?

Since the publication of the book we have been busy with book launches, here in Bologna in the form of a dialogue with the presence of Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, in Verona with African Summer School, on Radio Città del Capo, at Liberia Ambasciatori, Eataly in via degli Orefici, Bologna. A few weeks ago, Aglio Olio Pili Pili made its TV debut on RAI Tg2’s show Eat Parade.

After this promotional phase, in the new year we will consider ways to expand the book or new editorial projects to an even larger audience. And of course continue to gather people together at events in Bologna, also with local partners.

DM loves to inspire the readers to follow their dreams, we would like you to share some encouraging words.

At this risk of sounding like a slogan I would encourage everyone to remain curious, like a child. Also to remain human, that is to be guided by love for others, even for those we don’t know, and even if it makes us feel vulnerable, Déshabillé…

To learn more about Aglio Olio Pili Pili:

Blog: www.agliooliopilipili.com

FB: www.facebook.com/agliooliopili

Twitter: @agliooliopili

Purchase your book here

Photo Credits: Max Gorbatskyi

SAMUEL SOHEBI

Galleria 12/03/2015 Donatella

He started his professional adventure with the best statement ever:

“YES, I CAN DO IT”

Name: Samuel Sohebi

Profession: Celebrity Stylist & Owner of the shop Kult By Samuel Sohebi

Born in Munich in the 1988 and started as a Stylist for Philipp Plein.

He started his professional adventure as a fashion stylist with the best statement ever: “YES, I CAN DO IT”. Even though it was a new experience for him, he is convinced of the fact that you must be able to sell yourself even when you are not able to do something, and just GO FOR IT.

He started with Philip Plein, and from there the people and the press started to notice him, by taking pictures and talking about him. He has worked with Naomi Campbell in Ibiza, the Russian Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Glamour in Russia. He has prepared several campaigns for jewels and perfumes, and also provides styling services in Cannes for L’Oreal during the Film Festival event.

Furthermore, he has worked for Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica, to prepare them for the red carpet.

Of course, social networks played a big part on his success, people are always interested in which party you are going to, and which people you are hanging out with; you always have to keep the public informed and keep the magic alive.

In comparison to other stylists who start as Magazine editors, he started by styling models at events. For Sam, styling is not something you can learn; it’s a talent, something you do with passion and that needs inspiration. You have to combine the magic of the creation of the designer with the personality of the celebrity you work for.

In 2012 he opened his shop, Kult by Samuel Sohebi. The dresses he sells are purchased personally by him from around the world, especially from Italy (Bologna, Florence, Milan) and famous designers. Samuel cares not only about the quality or the brand of the dress, but about the aesthetics.

He realizes that not every woman can afford a designer dress since they can be expensive, but also, since every woman does not have the size of a model, he tries to mix and create a combination of the most beautiful dresses, taking into consideration that every woman needs to feel like a princess but in her own skin. There is no pressure to sell, every client must feel free and feel at home.

Something that always surprises him is when some famous women in the fashion or showbiz industry ask for his opinion on their look, and the best compliment for him is when clients come back to tell him about the event, show him pictures of the dress, how well it fit, and how satisfied they were.

What is the difference between a styling job for a magazine and a celebrity?

“In the first case, there is a story to tell the public, while in the second case, you dress a woman that wants to look and feel sexy. She wants to be the star under the spotlight and her goal is to get into the magazine or blogs in the best way possible. In order to do a great job as a stylist on the red carpet you have to study the trends of the moments, you need to know who is the designer of the moment.”

What are the difficulties of this job?

“Attitudes. A lot of attitudes are not coming from models or celebrities, as you could imagine, but from the staff, managers, photographers, who in some cases don’t know anything about fashion.”

Fashion in Europe and USA:

“I will like to move to New York to work as an intern for Vogue. I wouldn’t mind starting from scratch by doing trivial things like delivering coffee and making copies as long as I am doing what I love and taking steps to get where I want to be. In Germany fashion faces hard times. Sometimes you feel there is no progress like everything is moving in circles, and this is the unpleasant sensation I feel every time I come back from Milan or Cannes. In America it’s totally different, there is a lot going on and coming out and as a young man I know that professionally I can really grow up fast.”

WATCHING, LAUGHING AND TALKING ABOUT SOME OF SAM’S PICTURES:

4 men walking in suits

This photo depics Sam, his brother and two of his best friends headed to a sale event for the shop. It’s an unusual photo in Munich, where women love to be fashionable but it s more difficult to see guys walking like this along the street. The pic was taken with a simple phone but looks great and it captures a great moment for Sam.

Chanel Iman with a light blue dress

They met each other at Elie Saab backstage in Cannes back in the 2009; Sam went to Iman because he noticed her cool tattoo on her back, from there they started talking and exchanged contacts to be friends. Sometimes Sam brings her dresses, she is really an easygoing and simple person. The dress she is wearing is from a Prêt-à-Porter dress (Versace).

Samuel on a catwalk

We jump back to 2009, the first year of life of the shop Kult by Samuel Sohebi and his 24th Birthday. He decided to launch this event, and while organizing by himself for the first time in his life, he realized how difficult it is to prepare an event for 600 guests, and manage the staff including photographers, models, and the press. But he took this event as an investment to let people know him, his job, his passion, and his shop, and you know how social networks of course do the rest by sharing the event, pictures, tags, hashtags, that is the way people get to know you faster and search for your name around… who is this guy? Just click on it.

Be always ready.

Sam and Redfoo

The pic was shot in Cannes in 2013. It was 10 am on a beautiful sunny day and probably Redfoo from LMFAO partied all night long in the same distinct and colorful outfit, and as he was not interested in sleeping, he decided to look around for someone to play tennis with. Guess what? Sam is always in the right place in the right moment, you know that thing called… TIMING! Even though he was not able to play the game, he always finds a way to be over the top. And by the way, who would say no to LMFAO?

Mr. Bentley and Sam

The name of his dog has a reason!

Once, he worked for P. Diddy during an event promoting his perfume UNFORGIVABLE cologne by Sean John and the White Party, which took place at Nikki Beach in Saint Tropez. He remembered how P. Diddy’s family members were all absolutely nice to him; with his mother being the funniest woman in the world, and P. Diddy himself being one of the coolest party people ever. While Sam was having the best working experience of his life, the only person that was repeatedly rude to him without reason was the guy holding P. Diddy’s umbrella. His name was Mr. Bentley, that’s why he decided to Name his dog after him!

How did he get this job?

It was faith; Sam was in Saint Tropez when he met a guy he knew from the US who was kind of desperate because the stylist he wanted for the event was sick. He needed a replacement, so he just asked Sam if he knew a good stylist? SERIOUSLY?

At this point, we all know that Sam tends to have perfect timing, so he just suggested himself, and took the chance to show what his mama gave him! In every game played something unexpected always pops up, and in Sam’s case, he was able to meet Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton and received the chance to work with them.

Hotel Room with Model

This shot was taken in the room of Costes Hotel in Paris. It was a dress fitting for Alessandra Ambrosio and Sam needed to find a model the same sizes as her to see if the dress would fit her well.

In this picture you can see everything; Sam in the back, tired and doubtful about whether the client would like his choice or not, the model in front of the mirror, and last but not least, a dog, fearless of what is happening in the lives of the people there, as he hatches happily out of the window.

Alessandra Ambrosio loved the dress and we can totally understand why.

Samuel and Andre’ Leon Talley (Vogue)

This pic was shot at a Chanel event at Gran Palais. Sam designed the white fur bag is grabbing in the pic, André Leon came to him to ask who was the designer of the bag and Sam was surprised to receive his attention. For Sam, André is a really good advisor when it comes to the professional life.

You are free to follow him and his celebrities here – SAMUEL SOHEBI FACEBOOK PAGE

Déshabillé Magazine