oplà minishop

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a great summer or "back to real life" moment... today we have a nice presentation by Manuela, Manufactapaper. I found her jewels stunning from the very first moment I saw them. Hope you enjoy reading a bit more about her! I'm a bit sad because next week it's going to be the last week of my minishop, but I truly hope this experience can continue... fingers crossed.... but for now enjoy reading about Manuela and stay tuned. :)

My name is Manuela, I live in Sicily and I started working with paper around three years ago, when I started being interested in the creative possibilities of recycling paper and other materials such as tetrapack. 
I use different kinds of paper, from fine kinds of paper like rice paper, traditional printed italian paper (Varese), handmade marble paper from Florence, bookbinding paper with a "snake skin" effect, to recycled paper from magazines, old books, normal copy paper, tetrapack. My creative process has an aesthetical and ethical origin, I want to contribute 
to the change of meaning of contemporary jewelry: jewels are precious not because they're made of expensive materials,
but because they're the result of recycling, work, of the idea and the hand of the craftsman. 
Paper jewelry is a hobby for me, I sell my creations only occasionally and I'm satisfied with this situation. 
My style is modern and minimal, shapes are essential and geometric. 
I take my inspiration from what I learned about origami, adapting some of the origami modules to jewelry, following the idea of an origami that's not meant to be exhibited, but "wearable", I always take inspiration from nature looking for the same texture of animals' skin in the paper, the colors of the Mediterranean, and the sunshine of my island. 

today it's time to chat with Fabiola from archivio gotico. there are some beautiful garlands and postcards in oplà which she created - time to know her a bit more :)



Who's the creative mind behind archivio gotico?
The creative mind is basically me!

When did you start creating and how did you discover your passion?
Like many things, archiviogotico started by chance. I may have been grumbling at the traffic lights or gazing absent-mindedly at the computer monitor at work. Like many people, I have lots of ideas but rarely manage to put them into practice. I was probably – because I don’t really remember – thinking about vintage postcards and how nice it would be to make my own vintage sets based on a theme. I have a ‘theme’ mania, which started when I was a DJ in a local indie radio. I did themed programs with songs about any subject, from tea and toast to philosophy. There is also a bit of my childhood. My sister and I did a lot of drawing and messing about with paper because it was cheap and it offered a wide range of possibilities. My father worked in a printing factory and brought home a lot of scrap paper. We made our own comics and drew stories. They were all about pale girls, mansions, pavilions, boarding schools and treacherous events but they were often funny and had great characters. Archiviogotico probably started there.

Which are your favourite materials?
Definitely paper. Any kind. I’d like to use only recycled materials and one day I will manage to do that. I like finding old, yellowed paper in the office home supplies cupboard and I collect all the paper I can. In my town, it’s difficult to purchase good paper and there’s not much choice. I would have to purchase enormous quantities that I can’t afford. That teaches one to make use of what one has at hand.

How would you describe your creative process?
My creative process is always casual and a little chaotic, which is ok but a bit confusing. I have an idea and then starting looking through my box of paper cuttings and ephemera to see if I can find something that suits the theme I want to work on. I use a lot of vintage ephemera but never the originals. I scan the things I am interested in and touch them up with Photoshop. Then it’s time for printing, which I do on an ancient printer, and cutting. As far as postcards are concerned, I do a lot of research on copyright-free high resolution image databases. I’d like to do my own photos and am currently working on this. 

Where does your inspiration come from?
My weird childhood, my sister, ghost stories, windy days, books I read and re-read (E.A. Poe, Neil Gaiman, Herman Melville, Dino Buzzati to name but a few) and also from songs. Many of my postcard sets are based on songs. One of my favourites sets ‘I Often Dream of Trains’ is from a Robyn Hitchcock song.

What is craft for you? A hobby? Your profession? And are you happy with your current situation or would you like to change something?
Archiviogotico is currently a hobby. I work full time and don’t really have much time to work on new things. I’d really really like to be less messy and more organised so I can find regular time to dedicate to archiviogotico so I’m not particularly happy with how things are at the moment. I would like to learn more about printing, paper and bookbinding instead of just improvising. There’s a lot of improvisation in archiviogotico.

How would you describe your style?
That’s a difficult question. Eclectic, mostly. 

Do you participate in crafty markets/fairs or do you only sell online? 
Only occasionally and when there’s a fair nearby. I prefer to sell online. Selling individual postcards is not the same as selling a whole set with a theme and an identity. And I like packaging my work prettily and I can’t do that at fairs!

Overlapping
Overlaying
Overanalysing
Overviewing

Observing, obtaining.
Objective, obsessive.
Obscure until obliteration,
Oblique with obstinacy.

A site specific installation especially realised for Roodkapje's minishop basement. Using already existing drawings as a starting point to negotiate an intricate language of repetition and combination in an ever- evolving kaleidoscopic movement of zooming in and out.

An attempt to find the system that explains everything, the structure that subtitles all phenomena through repetition- until non-defined non-sense turns into non-plused non-description.

Who's the creative mind behind 'more?
Three girls who live in Venice, but come from different cities. 
Besides ‘more we work with contemporary art, photography, and the youngest just graduated in marketing. Our skills often complete eachother to discuss our creations, the choice of materials and then come to the realisation of the item. 




When did you start creating and how did you discover your passion?
‘more exists since around two years, it all started in a playful way: we wanted to wear original necklaces and not seeing copies on other girls. Then we found out our creations were really appreciated and started producing them for our friends. And then, through word of mouth, we managed to gather quite a good group of clients.   




Which are your favourite materials? 
We mostly work with glass blown Murano beads, and also with simple materials like terracotta, resin and iron hardware items. 




How would you describe your creative process?
Our creative process always starts with a visit to the Murano island, the most important city in the world for glass creations. There we buy glass beads (both blown and not). When we buy materials we do not think about how we will put together the necklaces.  When we meet to create together we fill the working space with all the materials and we try to combine them. In fact each of us has different tastes in terms of materials and colors to work with. 
This picture gives an idea of one of our typical creative meetings: 




   


Where does your inspiration come from?
A good chat with friends, a nice glass of wine and fantasy are our inspiration sources!


What is craft for you? A hobby? Your profession? And are you happy with your current situation or would you like to change something?
Our dream would be to only do this as a job, maybe opening a shop in the most beautiful city in the world, Venice! But for the moment ‘more is a hobby that allows us to spend lovely nights together, give free space to our creativity, and make women happy with our jewels.


How would you describe your style?
Let's say that our collaboration brings together different characters and tastes, but for sure our distinctive element is asymmetry. 
In our proposals there are balances that are not strictly related to a formal rigour, but we refer to a deep idea of beauty, which can be found in imperfection and in the dissonant power that can be generated by a form, a material or a color which brings armony to the whole. 


Do you participate in crafty markets/fairs or do you only sell online? 
Our main form of selling is word of mouth, but once in a while we also participate in crafty markets.