Past the phase in which I received the calling from an unknown source to become a fisherman – which I apparently took very seriously at the time - I fell in love with architecture and design. I’ve always been very creative, curious and detail oriented and I remember being just 4 or 5 and finding myself fascinated by what other people’s houses looked like on the inside, I had my mom buy me all sorts of design magazines and would go through them avidly. I was probably a weird kid, I’m not going to lie, lurking around people’s homes may not be the most common hobby for children. But I think that the fact that I was very shy growing up, this communication on an unspoken level was vital to me to say things about myself and read people, through for example clothing, objects, art...
When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?
Like most of my life changing decisions, ending up in the world jewelry was a total accident. When I graduated university, I started working as a trend forecaster and the studio I was consulting for at the time was specialized jewelry. I slowly got more and more involved in the process until I started designing the collections themselves, and in time, as much as it is humbling to have someone trust you to give life to their world through your vision, the research process and care around designing got so personal to me that I felt the need to express it for my own, without compromising with anyone. This is what I do now with my creations.
What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?
I remember messing around with wax for quite a while before feeling I was guiding this medium rather than being pulled by its unknown language, and feeling I fully transferred my vision into my jewels. This was an evolution, but the first time it happened with a collection that was a tribute to memories. The idea was that memories hide in plain sight just like dust, and from this the name Polvere, dust in Italian. I developed it around six core memories that I attributed to six different people to which I had written a confession letter. Each one was categorized by a year and the feelings they evoked (virgo baby!), kind of like how a collector would store his/her treasures. The fil rouge were stars, imagining memories could create a map to guide us through life like constellations did for sailors in the open sea. Each one of the main pieces of these six lines has a deep meaning to me and are all special for what they represent.
How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?
I always have quite a tight schedule, so it’s hard for me to fit many extra activities in during weekdays. So for day-to-day moments I have an almost religious bathing ritual, I’ll soak for as much time as I can with coarse salt and whatever oils or soaps I concoct that day thanks to my soap isle fetish (I probably should have said that potions were option two as a job when I was a kid). I feel this ritual draws out negativity and recharges my energy. I also love cooking foods from all countries, I like to study recipes and stories behind them and then always add a personal twist to them which mostly happens because I missed one or more of the ingredients from the list. When I can, I travel. I like to see new things, eat new food, meet new people and let vibes from a new place sink in. But also enjoy going back to places I know and feel like home to me, some cities feel like we share a well-kept secret only the two of us know.
What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?
In my manufacturing process it’s important to me to incorporate traditions as much as possible to maintain an organic relationship with the pieces I make. The less steps but especially the less technology I involve in my process the purer my creations feel to me. But also, I think this tradition/contemporary relationship is even more interesting when it goes beyond manufacturing. You know how you’re surprised when you find a piece by a poet from the 1700s that went through your exact same breakup? Or read Charlotte Brönte friendzoneing Harry Noussey like it could have been your bestie talking? I think it’s interesting how languages evolve in time allowing more freedom and experimentation, but I believe design springs from the need for expression and that the messages we are trying to convey at the core, the ones that move us as humans, are beyond time.
Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?
Each of the main pieces that give life to a collection stem from something meaningful to me, so they each have their own self-portrait quality to them. But as much as they are all very true to me at the time I create them in, life is a process of evolving and changing, so probably the most faithful one is the last one I made. This necklace from the Ambrosia collection stems from the feeling of explosive growth that rises after overcoming difficult changes. In its design the barbed wire modules represent how past wounds and hardships become useful tools to learn how to protect ourselves, while the coral that envelops the chain links shows how those same wounds can also be fertile ground for new growth and reconnection.
Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?
Precious stones. Gemstones in general are a huge limit for me, I love the colors and the fact that they are so unique and all have a story to tell. But every time I take home these little treasures and make all these plans and designs and then they end up in my hoarder box of shame with the rest of my untouched gemstones. They’re certainly an element that I still need to learn to decipher, I’m studying them from afar and am brewing the right way to respect them and at the same time be faithful to my aesthetic language.
How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?
The pandemic period was actually one of the most prolific for me, besides the obvious fact of being incarcerated in my own home, therefore having more time physically create, it is in moments of distress that one actually finds the push needed to venture within him/herself more deeply. Italy was one of the first European countries to be completely locked down and we had no idea when things were going to get better, so I put everything I had into creative outlets and in connections and I feel that the same happened to many. It was nice to see the whole creative community - at least in my connections - really come together to support each other as best they could during those hard times.
How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?
Like I said earlier I believe that what moves a human being to express something through art and jewelry is his/her humanity itself, so beliefs, feelings, passions… and as much as these are influenced by the zeitgeist they are also naturally timeless factors. This said, I like to think that contemporary jewels can become beacons to represent and give voice to a society in which we are slowly breaking out of preset barriers of discrimination, over control and lack of empathy.
