Archivi tag: tradition

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

HYSTRIO

Hystrio is the longest running theater and performance quarterly Magazine in the Italian theatrical scene, but it has changed over time while maintaining a timeless concept.

 

 

HYSTRIO (1 of 27)What is the key to the success of the magazine?  

Claudia (director) – Hystrio dates back to 1988, making it the longest-running paper magazine on theater. Last year we celebrated 30 years and we are proud of the excellent results. We can divide the life of the magazine into two historical phases; the first starts from the foundation to the end of 1997, when its creator Ugo Ronfani was still director under the protective shield of the Ricordi publisher house for a long period of time. During that time graphics and contents were different from todays, both in format and cover. In 1998, Ricordi was sold to a multinational company that imposed cuts on certain branches of the company, including the prose sector, which included Hystrio and a series of contemporary drama plays. Ronfani, a theatrical critic of the magazine Il Giorno, tells us that she wants to cede the helm of this adventure, putting us at a crossroads  between keeping the magazine alive or ending it. We decided to continue, founding a cultural association named after the magazine. We do not receive compensation for our work because the quarterly allows us to take on other jobs to support ourselves.

The adventure was tiring but we didn’t give up. The first issue of January 1998 was the first one I signed as director at the specific request of Ronfani. I was 32 years old. We made the graphics clean, with movement compared to the previous one, full of past contents. We maintained the original structure by publishing contemporary drama texts, correspondences from abroad, reviews, and a library section but we also enriched the magazine with new insights ranging from puppet theater to a theater of diversity, and the “theatrical company” news.

After a few years we still felt the need to review the magazine’s appearance from a graphic point of view. We were inspired by Theater heute (the most prominent German theater magazine), which had very clean and essential simple layout. We then expanded our work group, growing to about 50 people from Italy and other countries, and this was one of the key aspects of our success. Even without notable economic resources, dividing the work among ourselves is sustainable for everyone and prevents fatigue. This way we can have a hundreds of reviews and multiple correspondences from abroad with those who discover and appreciate us.

Every 3 months, we agree on various topics with their support.

The key to success in general is to be inclusive, in a positive sense. We write about everyone and everything, we don’t just follow a certain type of theater, we try to have a divergent look that manages to embrace tradition but also innovation and research, dance, opera and many other possible topics, without any hesitation.

HYSTRIO (13 of 27)Who are the women of Hystrio, what are their paths and their passions?

The women of Hystrio are Claudia, the director, Alessia -graphics-, I, Ilaria -in the editorial office-, Valeria -organizer and administrative part-, Arianna -communications-.

Ilaria Angeloni, joined Hystrio in 2012 and always had a passion for theater. Observing how poetic theatricals are born, how they are created and also studying the organizational part, is a passion that was born many years ago. It became my reason to study this field and later turned into my profession after graduation. Before coming to Hystrio, I was an editor in other places. Here I manage the editorial staff, ensuring that all content respects the style and aesthetic characteristics of the magazine.

As a cultural association we deal with multiple activities including the Hystrio Award and organizing courses and seminars, as our goal is to spread theatrical culture. This world stimulates me and enriches me every day and this excites me to further my work.

HYSTRIO (25 of 27)

Valeria Brizzi – I approached Hystrio through a Facebook advertisement, and I have been working here since 2015. Through this opportunity I was selected for the Organizational Secretary position where I take care of the practical aspects of editing, cash flow, accountants, and finding resources for activities – a task that is particularly difficult in Italy at the moment.

Although this is a part time job, I choose to dedicate myself to cultural work. This is a constant challenge that has stimulated me, made me grow, and allowed me to be a part of Hystrio’s service. This position has helped me in my other jobs as well.

Arianna Lomolino – I approached Hystrio through a Facebook advertisement and I began working in 2016. I started as an intern for Milano in scena by Hystrio, which publishes reviews and theatrical news online. I later started to work on the website and managed all external communications such as social media.

I am learning so much and this work enriches me enormously. Theater is one of the most fair spaces in which we can move, I like to think that the written word and acting have an important function in society.

Alessia Stefanini – I have taken care of Hystrio’s graphic designs since 2007. I am a lover of the theater sector and I am also an actress at the School of Possible Theaters. I deal with packaging the final product. I started out as a graphic designer, and I love working here because theater is my primary interest. This is my only graphic design position that allows me to unite my profession and life passion, I couldn’t ask for more.

On the Italian scene, what is the role of Hystrio in the theater sector? Where is it located?

Claudia – I think this question should be asked to our readers. From my point of view, Hystrio is not only the longest running magazine, but also one of the most authoritative references for enthusiasts or theater-goers. Having a review on Hystrio, getting a book or an in-depth review, or receiving the Award is very much coveted. We have continuous requests on various fronts, from the publication of dramaturgical texts, to the presence at festivals, shows and conferences. From here, new stimulating jobs and study opportunities are born.

Hystrio has remained independent, we are a bit elusive thanks to this feature, but above all we keep a curious and open mentality to all without creating divisions. The theater is a small world which we try to inform critically.

HYSTRIO (17 of 27)How did this network that includes more than 50 collaborators develop?

It has grown through listening, availability and curiosity in the new proposals approach.

When we build a new issue, we first ask the question: Which shows would you like to review? What dossiers would you like to follow?

I wait for the answers from the collaborators and I try to divide the task based on the answers. When new elements that are proposed, we listen and try to decide whether to establish collaborations or not. This method has been the key to expanding our working group. The talent of each member is identified and valued, and the time, energy and predisposition that each person has is matched.

All the editors meet annually in February to choose the winner of the Hystrio Award. About forty are permanent collaborators in addition to ten experts who collaborate on the basis of the theme.

hystrio2019


What lies behind the Hystrio Award festival? How is the event planned and developed?

The Hystrio award is an important activity of Hystrio, it is a long-lived theatrical Award, which will celebrate 30 years next year.

It is an event where employees of Hystrio choose, category by category, the artists who have distinguished themselves or deserve recognition for the quality of their work within the year.

The categories are: Direction, Interpretation, Dramaturgy, Writing. We also have 3 special categories: Other Muses for fun-categorized theatrical professionals in a particular sector but who are the most eclectic artists. An Award is dedicated to a young emerging company, the Iceberg Award, aimed at enhancing young talents. Finally we have a special prize called Body to Body aimed at body language for a very broad sense of dance.

The other part of the Award focuses on young actors, writers and companies following talent scouting.

Every year a call for contenders goes out in January for dramatic actors under 30 and writers under 35.

This year 224 actors and 106 playwrights have signed up. This implies a significant amount of work as all these young people will be undergo a thorough audition that Claudia Canella and I will hold. From this stage we will select 40 participants.

The 106 anonymous plays that arrive in the newsroom are read by a commission composed of 12 collaborators. After reading through them, we will select a dozen, and the winner will be announced on the last day of the event, June 10th.

The Hystrio Award will take place on June 8/9/10 at the Elfo Puccini theater, corso Buenos Aires 33, in Milan

 

HYSTRIO (17 of 27)Valeria – The pre-selected 40 finalist actors will attend the 3-day event, and they will be discussed and heard by a jury of professionals, theater directors, and important artistic groups. Auditions will take place in the morning and afternoon of June 8th and 9th, ending with an evening show.

Instead, the winning play will be presented by a Director and cast of professionals as the first show. On the following evening we will have a show from the previous year’s winning company. Finally on June 10th the 2 young finalists will emerge with a third youngster: who will get the Hystrio Award will get access to scholarships.

To achieve all this, an organizational and communicative machine is needed which starts months before, times is fundamental so we also employ a team of 4 interns.

The event brings together not only the public, experts, and winners, but also many young people and theater lovers, so the atmosphere during the awards ceremony is open and festive.

The theater has the aim to create a link between what happens on stage and the audience, without this aspect there is no reason to call it theater or even exist.

Our ambition is to continue in this direction, open and projected towards the world.

 

Imo, Francesca&Donatella

Tèssere Project

Tèssere is a continuous opportunity for networking and socialization. Every day, we try to add to this road we are creating. We would like to become a brand for products, and a new way of thinking about work, a way to respect people, and the enhancement of their capacity and specialty: a new way of experiencing the environment.

Tèssere is a big team of more then 10 women with different background and experiences: weavers, tailors, designers, a kind of “supporter” and a coordinator for each workshop.

Tèssere included two different artisan workshops where the textile turns through a traditional weaving technique called “de sa trama’e manta“. This technique allows the re-use of discarded textile or clothing and creates new styles or strips that become the weave in the loom that joins the woven of wool or cotton creating unique and very original artifacts.

Some years ago I had the idea to start ​​the project Tèssere. It began when I looked more carefully at an ancient artifact made with the traditional technique “de sa trama’e manta”. I thought that this product possessed an extraordinary value and it was a perfect combination of creativity and technology, history and culture of our communities. That object contained in itself another fundamental element: the recovery of what would end up in landfill. I thought that all these matters can be synthesized and linked with the social dimension of the work that would restore dignity to women and improve their quality of life. Because I dealt with social issues for years, it was natural for me to combine all these elements into a single project, so I cherished this dream for a few years until a competition announcement of the “Fondazione con il sud” allowed us to implement the project which was ultimately selected for a national competition that began December 2013. The project consisted of two workshops about thirty kilometers away from each other, in two different villages. 4 communities are involved as well as two social cooperatives, a cultural association, a society of environmental design and the Caritas all coming together for one goal: to create jobs in a new way, sustainable, with roots in the history and culture of their own land keeping an eye on the present and the future.

We are in Sardinia, in the smallest province of Italy, Ogliastra. It is an ancient land of great culture and extraordinary nature, but marked by deep economic crisis. We preferred to act, rather than feeling sorry for ourselves. We preferred to design and share ideas and dreams, rather than complain about the lack of jobs.

Tèssere is a challenge. We often repeat that with determination and courage we can overcome even the most difficult challenges. In this first years of work many beautiful things have happened: we have seen the generosity of people who donated clothes and fabrics destined to be thrown away; wasted fabric becoming transformed, contributing significantly in reducing pollution and last but not least, watching Tèssere enter the market force with quality artisan products, recognizably beautiful. We have also seen the windows of other shops with our products, our bags carried around with the natural elegance of women, new relationships blooming with other organizations, individuals, and designers, the large amount of brand new clothes donated to the Caritas for families in need; the smile and the satisfaction of women who have found jobs through us, and are still employed.

Tèssere is this and much more.

Because every day it opens a new window for us, new connections develop for our small company.

Tèssere is a continuous opportunity for networking and socialization. Every day, we try to add to this road we are creating. We would like to become a brand for products, and a new way of thinking about work, a way to respect people, and the enhancement of their capacity and specialty: a new way of experiencing the environment.

Have a look here!

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Donatella