There's a proverb I've always liked: “if you want to walk fast, run alone. If you want to go far, run with someone. "
There is nothing more true. For those who have always been used to doing it themselves, there is nothing simpler and faster. But when you realize the wealth that comes from a confrontation with a similar mind to yours, you will no longer want to run alone. I would like to enjoy the journey, the beauty of every encounter, of every experience.
If it comes to artisans, then, the journey becomes unforgettable.
That's why I want to talk to you in this article about my collaborations, about those of this year and, why not, about the next ones I have in mind.
Decorating is better than printing
One of the people with whom I now collaborate permanently is Lucia Locatelli, mind and hand behind Impressioni.it. Initially what struck me was his knowledge of the botanical world. In her creative garden, you will find a fascinating world: Lucia makes stamps engraved in rubber that celebrate nature, notebooks, notebooks and small paper jewels, made with a passion that is impossible not to see with the naked eye.
After many exchanges of comments before and messages after, Lucia and I told each other who we are, imagining what we could have created together. Thus was born the idea of making stamps specifically for my shoes.
Instead of using a printed leather, I began to decorate the material with his creations, which makes each product even more artisanal. No shoe is identical to the other, not even within the same pair.
Flowers, leaves, buds and buds dance on my shoes, and this is a real joy for both eyes.
AttaccoBottone, a tandem of creativity
This is not a collaboration, but many and all different, united by a concept that I created at the beginning of 2021. The idea is to work together with an artisan who makes tailored suits, decide the mood, create a dress and a shoe to buy and wear as a couple. Not “to be combined”, therefore, but conceived together, in a very different perspective. I imagined a number of people I would like to work with, people to work with and inspire each other, to come up with two unique limited edition products.
As I often say, the best ideas come from my clients. At that time it happened more and more to me that a customer asked me for a shoe to match with a dress already purchased from another artisan, so I thought: what if they were already born "as a couple"?
The first experience was born with Federica Gaffuri, alias Phaedra Collection, who defines himself as an "economist by training, a stylist by tradition and passion." Federica and I have a lot in common, in the way of understanding work, femininity and the uniqueness of the products. So we made the first couple: Federica fell in love with a linen / cotton blend fabric, as soon as she saw it she already had the sketch in mind. She created a short dress, with a round collar and a slight flounce at the bottom. As always, the details are precious: on the front there was a row of colored and different vintage buttons, which unknowingly inspired me.
I have created a new version of the Azzurra model, in three colors combined with the denim dress. Powder, lavender and water, a palette that immediately won the hearts of many!
I made the second experiment with Sara Forlini, for everyone MisStufi. Sara is not only someone I met on social media, but is a person who by affinity has become a friend that is anything but virtual.
As soon as I told her about the project, she immediately said yes, and the planning started immediately. Sara has created several outfits, developing a pair of trousers that I love: her petalino. She calls it "the pantacuore" for a particular cut at the waist. To complete it all, a cupro cotton shirt, a silk on the skin. She had 5 wonderful colors at her disposal, with which she could make trousers and shirt according to the client's taste and I created three versions of Lia sandal, perfectly matching
Her misstuferie they found a perfect match with my Lia.
A tandem of creativity that is about to start again, who will be the next artisan?
Two regions united by tradition
One of the latest collaborations has managed to shorten distances, to cancel out kilometers and kilometers of land and water. It is the micro-collection "Lo Grà", which unites my Marche with Francesca Sabbagh's Sardinia. It is a project that combines the love for rituals, childhood memories, the curiosity for new professions that recover the ancient supply chains.
Lo Grà, which in Marche means "The Wheat", was born after an exchange of social comments with Francesca, creator of White pepper. We talked about weaves, passions, and we imagined a small collaboration that used woven straw. It was extraordinary, like working four hands miles apart, with the idea of bringing together two such similar and fascinating traditions, each in its own way.
Francesca has recovered the straw supply chain in Sardinia. From her organic Senatore Cappelli wheat crops come the stems that she herself intertwined and we sewed on the two models of the collection: the high sandal Lo Grà, in two color versions, earth and sunset, and the low sandal Trigu, which in Sardinian it always means wheat. The straw straps were then finished with a comb and cotton thread.
I asked Francesca how this strange passion was born, and she replied like this:
"If it hadn't been for the story behind it, I don't know if I would have been so passionate about working with straw. With the hat I had found the enthusiasm to decide to change profession, but the recovery of the raw material supply chain has begun to be my true great passion.
In the outskirts of Florence, in Signa, the Fiorentina straw hat was born. The technique I learned is just that. I thought that, due to a certain historical proximity in traditions and climate, we could try to resume this ancient supply chain in Sardinia, where wheat is mostly used in the food sector, but which in the artisan tradition is still useful for making baskets , flasks and bottles. So for fun and for challenge, I started to cultivate small plots of different grains, to understand which of the soft, hard, ancient, local ... was the most suitable for the work of the weaving.
Of all those I have collected so far, Senatore Cappelli wheat has given me a lot of satisfaction, but still other populations will be sown and tested thanks to the support of people who still plant wheat with passion and who still look at me with eyes that sparkle, with optimism and with the hope that something could grow from the fields they played in when they were children.
A Sardinian saying that I like to remember is "Saludi and Trigu" in which the trigu (wheat) is placed side by side with a very sacred thing in Sardinia, health.
In my research on traditional weaving in Sardinia, hats are not really central. Mostly we talk about domestic or work tools, Marceddí pots come to mind, for example, and 'sa corbula' a typical basket from the Sinnai area.
The baskets go to collect the wheat after the harvest, which today takes place with very modern tools, and use it for their work. I decided to do the same, but I go a little earlier, at the beginning of June, when the fiber is more elastic and shiny. I arrange the wheat in 'manate' bunches that fit in one hand. I will turn them every day for about a week before taking it off and selecting the diameter of the stems. Keep the ears for the next sowing.
I simplified a traditional method by aligning myself with the already existing cultivation of organic wheat. I still can't produce enough braid for my entire production, but the feeling that it is possible is stronger than ever"
The brides who unite the artisans
That's right. My collaboration with artisans who make tailored clothes was born thanks to our mutual customers. Of their own free will they united two personalities that they thought were similar, and this allowed me to get to know each other Larimeloom, which creates surprising tailor-made suits with the possibility of dyeing or painting them even for less, e Caterinette - abitifattiamano, which in addition to the tailoring of wedding dresses also offers sewing courses. Little spoiler: a new project is planned for 2022, with one of the two craftsmen I just told you about. Guess who 🙂
What about the next projects?
As you can imagine, my desire to share to multiply creativity will certainly not stop there. The next project is already about to see the light, but for now I can only tell you who will be my travel companion: Eureka The Original, along with Lara di Popihat who makes wonderful handcrafted accessories for children. You will see her caps in the next photo shoot. I won't tell you more, but keep following us on social networks to find out more! ☺
