Archivi tag: Italy

PERCHE’ NO Jewels

 “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.

 

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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.

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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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Donatella

Nico’s version

Nico and I we know each other since 5 years already, and I still remember the first time we were talking on my terrace, drinking a glass of wine, the moment I thought that I needed to tell his story. He is the typical artist, the way we all imagine a creative mind: brilliant, fleeting, changing and enthusiastic about everything and every proposals!
Since then he climbed the ladder, but always being humble, passionate and curious.

 

 

Who is Nico?!

 

I grow up in Tuscany on a hill in the middle of nowhere. It was, and still is an oasis of freedom and inspiration. Surrounded by nature, as a child I helped often my dad to do agricultural activities such cutting grass or doing fire wood. This was my first contact with machines like the chainsaw. As I grew older, I started using it for carving sculptures. A lot of space, no neighbors, no noise restrictions, it was the perfect playground for me to learn as autodidact wood sculpture. When I was 17 years old I did my first sculpture, without model, protection and without a plan what a possible outcome could be.

This was the starting point of my career as sculptor.

NMH030HNM_sculptures__0066 MU_0043 MU_0040 progetto la quinta stagione 2.0 Prof. Kuno Prey

When did you start to sculpt?

 

When I was a child I always wanted to become a midwife. I do not know how this idea went into my mind, but it was so strong that I started to look for an internship in that field as I was 16 years old. The idea of giving birth to something always inspired me. At the time (nowadays I do not know how it is) this type of profession was reserved for women. Looking back at this time I think that I always had in me the unconscious desire to create something or at least to assist to giving birth to something. In the context of making sculptures I realized that it was more important to me to create something, instead of only assisting to give birth.

I decided to move to London in 2016, as I got a place at the Royal College of Arts. I always wanted to study product design.

 

HNM_sculptures__0078 2What’s so special in your works?

I am not so sure. I think that they are quite unique as I never do research before starting a new project. I do not know if something like that exists already; I also do not know where my work is going to take me.

In other words I often start with a material or a process without knowing what the outcome come will be.

 

 

 

 

 

scaffali025Where does your passion come from?

I think the most important thing about my work is that I enjoy doing what I am doing. I do not think that much about it… I just start somewhere, without knowing exactly where I am going to end. This is the reason why the first and last step in producing my sculptures is the making aspect. I do not sketch that much and I prefer not to model what am doing.

 

 

 

 

 

Your mantra? 

Start doing instead of thinking!

When you start a project, do it with love and follow your passion and choose your project topic in base of what you enjoy doing.

 

Soon the new website!

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SILVIA TOFFANIN

It was love at the first sight with Silvia! Perhaps because of her energy, or her genuine and contagious smile with whom she welcomed me when we met the first time. I believe I would like everything made of her just because of her and the way she moves in the space around itself, because it seems she does it lightly and cheerfully.

Silvia was born in Padua, a quiet city near Venice, in the north of Italy. She was a cheerful, active, diligent school girl, but very talkative 🙂

She is now living in China after 13 years spent in Milan, where she is now running her Footwear Design Consultancy Studio, BLACKZEROstudios, based in Milan and Shenzhen.


Why China? It happened by chance, but she discovers a completely different way to work and to make business: in China everything moves fast, people are very dynamic and love to risk.

The Made in Italy is unique but Chinese people are unbeatable in business.

Dreams

I started dancing at 5, so obviously the first dream was to become a dancer, then in middle school suddenly, after seeing Apollo 13, I began to dream of being an astronaut… later an airplane pilot! My childhood was serene and happy: afternoons after kindergarten and in summer, when my parents had to work, I spent time with my maternal grandparents. Grandma is a seamstress, I always saw her with needle and thread in her hands, so I spent the whole afternoons playing and messing with fabric remnants and copying clothes. Since then I noticed that my interest in fashion increased and when I was 8/9 years old they gave me one sewing machine toy for my birthday.

The Beginning

Since adolescence, with the help of grandma, we created a lot of clothes or customized what I bought or what I already had, adding particularity and originality to the pieces I wore. At the end of the High School, where I studied languages, time has come to make a decision how to continue my studies.

To everyone’s amazement I decided to study fashion. Fashion was far away from my previous studies and from my personal style at that time. Indeed in that moment, I was not a Fashionista in the literal sense. I was a little rebel: creative, eccentric, thinking out of the box, with a great passion for streetstyle and couture, always researching new mixes of fabrics, colours and shapes. That’s why I thought my creative energy could perfectly find application in the charming world of Fashion.

My family initially disagreed, but eventually we found a solution and I left for Milan. 5 years at the Politecnico of Milan, a thousand adventures, ideas, projects, experiences.

Even before finishing my master’s degree I started working for a Footwear Design Studio. Thanks to a university course I have known Marco and Guillaume and their brand Guillaume Hinfray, like this I sent them an email asking for an internship and so I started. Beside my grandmother, surely they are the people who inspired me to take this path and thanks to whom I turned my passion into my work.

From there everything began!

 Work

(2009) I stayed with Marco and Guillaume 6 years long and then moved on to the freelance business collaborating with other studios and brands.

Less than one year ago, in 2019 I started my project Studio Blackzerostudios_Milano: after so many years drawing shoes, in September I got the chance to participate at the London Fashion Week with a capsule of clothing. I took the opportunity on the fly: this is how my first clothing collection was born.

Future Projects

And now here I am, I continue with the same passion and love for fashion I have many projects in the drawer that I hope to realize soon! These days I’m working on a new important personal project. It’s a “secret dream” I’ve been keeping in my heart and now I think it’s the right moment to start.

I can’t reveal more details, so… stay tuned, news are coming!…

 

Photo credits by Ph. Elisabetta Brian @elisabetta_brian
Model: Francesca Interlenghi @the_dummys_tales
Location: Galleria Raffaella Cortese @galleriaraffaellacortese
Exhibition: Unrequited love by Monica Bonvicini

 

OLIVOCRACY

“The big love we have for both Italy and the UK shaped our biggest dream and gave us the motivation to turn it into reality: offer our British friends the possibility to taste the real Italian excellences at home and experience Italy like a local on a holiday to remember.”

 

Daniele & Eleonora grew up in a small city in the centre of Italy, in an area called Umbria, well known for its peculiar medieval hamlets, its hilly landscape covered by vineyards and olive groves and its delicious food. A place away from the buzz of the big cities where you can savour the pleasures of a slow paced lifestyle and experience a deep connection to nature and tradition.
They have known each other forever but then they met again in London 10 years ago, where Daniele had moved for work and Eleonora was on holiday… “And here we are! The big love we have for both Italy and the UK shaped our biggest dream and gave us the motivation to turn it into reality: offer our British friends the possibility to taste the real Italian excellences at home and experience Italy like a local on a holiday to remember.”

When did you start the Olivocracy project?
We started Olivocracy four years ago, with a range of organic and biodynamic single estate extra virgin olive oils from Italian small producers and then we added Magna Mater, a range of biodynamic condiments: balsamic vinegars, apple cider vinegar, white condiment and Saba that is cooked grape must. Single estate in most cases or single origin. Mostly, pillars of traditional Italian cuisine.
We work with organic and biodynamic small to medium scale producers as they are more connected to the agronomic heritage and the rhythm of mother Nature. Two of our extra virgin olive oils come from a FAO GIAHS, a Globally Important Agronomic Heritage System, “outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystem and a valuable cultural heritage”.
For us there cannot be excellence without sustainability, for two main reasons: first, we believe that in a product that is considered excellent there should be no undesired substances. Second and not less important, one of the points that make a product excellent, together with an amazing sensory and chemical profile, is the impact it has on the environment.

We believe that farming can have a positive impact on the environment if farmers work in harmony with Nature, nurture biodiversity and prioritize revitalization of the soil.
We support short supply chain and maximum traceability, products straight from the farm to our customers, certified, tested in a lab and with no additives whatsoever.

Where does your passion come from?
A few factors came together: our love for Italy and London, our deep connection to nature and to tradition, a strong will to stand up for more environmentally friendly practices and a passion for discovering niche, outstanding products. We love networking, we love collaborating with like-minded people, we love waking up in the morning with a sense of scope and feeling that we are part of a constantly growing movement of people thinking and acting differently.

Difficulties.
Doing everything by ourselves, learning things we had never done before and not all listed in the famous 20% of the Pareto Principle :D, starting a business without external funds, a highly competitive market, make audience understand the real value of our products, the fact that we pay the producers more than fairly and how much this affects the final price.
However, every difficult step, led us here and we are learning a lot about business, our sector and about ourselves, as individuals, as professionals and as a couple working together. It just feels great and all this resonates so much with what we are and our values that even in the most challenging days, we know where we want to go and who we want to be.

Your goals.
Our goal is doing something we love which makes us grow as both professionals and individuals while having a positive impact on the society. Offering people the option of shopping with an eye (or both) to the environment, to their health and to real quality. Keep on learning, evolving and expanding. Having a great work-life balance and a job that is also a passion that fulfills us and gives us energy to invest with people we love. Stay present to ourselves and in connection with nature.

Be the best version of ourselves and a source of good energy for people we meet!

Advices to someone who wants to start a business.
Find out what your mission and your core values are and live accordingly. Everything will be much easier and enjoyable. Be humble and see a teacher in everyone and every situation, but at the same time be self-confident and trust your ability to do well what you already know and to learn what you don’t. Network with genuine interest with like-minded people and welcome debate. Keep on learning, reading, watching videos, listening to people, feeding your brain and soul. Try not to let the business take over your personal life, find time for yourself, meditate, exercise, do yoga or whatever you like to take care of yourself and stay healthy. Find time for your loved ones, love and life are a great source of energy and inspiration.

Projects for the future.
At some point, we would love to be flexible between London and Italy, so to have more time to enjoy our families and the Mediterranean weather that we love so much! Widen the range of products and the circle of people we collaborate with. Create more and more synergies with other sectors of sustainable manufacture. Work on connected projects. Being able to delegate and allocate our working time to that aforementioned 20% of things that we really love doing.

Our mantra
Be the change you want to see in the world.
We don’t inherit the world from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Keep calm… and call Batman!

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Donatella

Mariposa Bijoux

“Behind all this there is so much passion, determination, optimism, patience… but also many privations…”

 

“My name is Incoronata and I am a Designer, Milliner, and dressmaker!

I come from a small town located in the north of the beautiful Apulia named Manfredonia and I am the second of four daughters.

For 3 years I have lived in one of the most beautiful islands of the Canaries (Spain), precisely in Tenerife. 4 years ago I was on holiday with my lover and I fell madly in love with this fantastic place. It is always spring here, and this a great advantage for me and my creations because it means that I can sell them in flea markets and in luxury hotels all year round!

In fact, thanks to the markets, I have known a lot of people all around the world who contacted me on on our FB page, even after the purchase was made in person. I ships to Germany, England, Belgium and North to South Italy. My passion started from the age of 10… At that point I learned to sew from my neighbour… I loved to create clothes for my dolls and to organize fashion shows with my small friends. Art is a gift of my family… My father is a craftsman and my mother is a housewife, but above all a great cook; she makes great cakes, a skill that she passed on to my sister who is now a pastry chef and works as cake designer for “Le Delizie di Amerilde”.

She already won various competitions, including the “Cake Design Italian Festival” in Milan!

Back to me, the idea of ​​creating jewelry was born in 2003 when I was preparing my first show with Stil Daunia Fashion, organized by the Artisan Association Manfredonia. I showcased my clothes and accessories under the theme “A dress for every occasion” and I came in fourth place. Then two years later I opened my atelier called “Art and Fashion”, which was selling designer fabrics of the most prominent Italian and international fashion brands. The best sellers were chantilly laces embroidered with precious stones and printed silks. I drew and customized outfits and bridal gowns, all with accessories like Swarovski jewelry, and decorated bags and shoes!

I was really famous and everyone knew them, people came from far away to buy them…

In 2006 I participated in the same competition for the second time, and came in second place with the theme “20’s” presenting clothes and accessories including bags, all made by me. I already taught myself in the past to create jewelry.

Today I use the technique of soutaches, after seeing a pair of earrings a girlfriend wore.

In November 2013 I created my first jewelry line and created a Facebook page. Swiftly it became a success, all thanks to the collaboration of friends and family who liked my page. Facebook was an exceptional showcase and it hasn’t stopped since then! Today I can say that this “my biggest goal”.

In only 3 years I created this small workshop of jewelry; unique and original in their style, refined, elegant and created with precious materials such as beads of Tenerife, Swarovski, igneous stones, and rhinestones.

Behind all this there is so much passion, determination, optimism, patience… but also many privations… often I do early hours to satisfy all the demands of customers, especially in the period of the year between May to September where there are many ceremonies and parties.

I produce at home on a very big table, bigger than the one where I eat! Ideas and inspirations come from different worlds… from cinema to music. Many photo albums that I created on my FB page have the names of big stars like Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.

As I said, it was not always easy, that is why there is a sentence that I always repeat to encourage myself or when I am in trouble: “God help me… He helps me… He is listening to me… My faith in God helps me, and I know that there is “someone up there who protects me.”

About my future projects: I would like to open a small Atelier where I can sell my jewelry and give a wide choice to my customers, soon I will open a website, it’s a work in progress! 🙂

Important about me: I approach life and work always with positivity, serenity, happiness. That is also why most of my creations have very lively colors, only because I like to give life and color to convey something positive to people and I try to avoid people who can give me negativity.

The motto of my page is ”Mariposa bijoux, to shine like a Diva”! 😉

This is me, Incoronata 🙂 Thank you very much, I hope to gain even more success through this interview! A big hug and lots of kisses from the beautiful Tenerife!”

WEBSITE

FB: Mariposa.bijoux

Donatella

Claudia Errante

In the Spring 2013 I asked myself: “There must be a way to wear a turban with the comfort of having them already ready to wear, whenever you want, without having to tie and build them all the time!” No sooner than I thought it, I did it!

 

First of all I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunit