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Interview with Eleonora Federici |
Home > Designer Interviews > Eleonora Federici |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Eleonora Federici (EF) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Eleonora Federici by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
EF: My parents used to take me to museums and important italian cities since I was very young. I also liked to paint and draw. I studied Art and Literature at University and my passion for beauty and Art kept growing until I decided to become a gemologist. Gemstones showed me that Nature can be a huge source of inspiration. Since my first days in my family Jewelry shop I could express myself creating unique, high-end jewels for our Customers. Yes, I think that I was meant to be a designer since the beginning.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
EF: My jewelry shop has been in business for 42 years, and focuses on high quality products and design. We offer every kind of service: from repairing and refurbishing old jewels to creating from scratch new ones for our Customers. Reliability, honesty and professionalism are the main characteristics of my business
FS: What is "design" for you?
EF: Design is the ultimate frontier of art, it is what enables people to bring forth new ideas, new objects, new concepts. Design is research, beauty, poetry, emotion, progress.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
EF: Jewels, of any kind!
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
EF: One of my fist pieces was a semi-rigid yellow gold necklace with a cluster of orange, yellow and red briolette cut Sapphires. This piece was uniquely created and was the first of its kind and this style predated the similar collections of a famous Fashion House presented only 10 years later.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
EF: My favorite material is yellow and pink gold. I love both the traditional wax hand carving method and CAD softwares like Rhinoceros7, Z-brush.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
EF: When I have an inspiration, and it happens all the time and in any place. I always try to be receptive. Basically, my mind is always open to new sources of inspiration.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
EF: Shape and movement. A piece has always to be elegant and perfect.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
EF: I feel that every jewel I am creating is part of me… like a child who grows up and leaves home…I feel the challenge of achieving perfection, and that makes me enthusiastic and eager to create the next design.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
EF: I feel that every jewel that I have ever made is like a child to me, I feel complete, excited and enthusiastic and truly accomplished in life
FS: What makes a design successful?
EF: Beauty and usability
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
EF: First of all a good design never goes out of fashion. That means that it will always be beautiful, wearable, useful.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
EF: Create new styles that make people live more close to nature and raise awareness of the most important issues for a better world: Peace, preservation of endangered species, respect for nature. This seems trivial, but if the world continues to be blind to these issues, I don't know if humanity will really have a future.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
EF: I have never had a real exhibition (I have never thought about that): my Customers are the glamorous “mannequins” wearing my jewels. It would be a dream of mine to have an exhibition in New York or in Hollywood.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
EF: Inspiration is all around me. My Muses are often gemstones, Nature in general and pieces of Art.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
EF: Design has no limits. That is why I don’t want to enclose myself in just one style. I am eclectic. But movement and sensuality are for sure one of the main characteristics of my designs.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
EF: I live in Italy. I think that any other comment is unnecessary!
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
EF: They should select someone eager to create, to grow. And they should give a designer as much freedom as possible: you cannot put too many constraints to creativity.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
EF: The inspiration is like a lightning, then the idea starts developing in my head and I have the vision of the final result. Then I start creating the model following this image, sometimes making some changes in order to obtain a jewel that has to be not just beautiful, but also wearable.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
EF: The “Pirce” chandelier by the italian brand Artemide, the pendulum clock “La Tour” by L’Epée, a statue by the artist Luca Bossaglia, a portrait of myself by the artist Stefano Bressani.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
EF: Milk and coffee with some cookies as soon as I wake up, then I work all day. I go for a run, or do Pilates at least 4 times a week (if possible!). I like cooking in my free time (I am really fond of making pastries), which I usually do during the week-ends. When I can, I go to Tuscany where my father was born, and take long hikes up in the mountains and in the fall, we usually go together searching for mushrooms. Those moments are fundamental for relaxation and they give my brain renewed energy so I can have new ideas for my jewels.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
EF: Never surrender. Sooner or later someone will believe in you!
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
EF: The only negative is that sometimes it is hard to be understood and appreciated. That is why “creativity takes courage”, as H. Matisse said.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
EF: Being brave.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
EF: Willfulness, scrupulousness, courage and having no boundaries for your imagination.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
EF: My mind is my canvas. I use the traditional bench jeweler tools, CAD software (Rhinoceros7), sculpting software (Z-Brush). I like going directly from the ideas in my mind to the creation of the model.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
EF: I work tirelessly until I have obtained what I want.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
EF: It depends on the project…sometimes few hours, sometimes weeks or months.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
EF: How can you have so many different ideas?
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
EF: I want the world to see my jewels, so I hope to have more contacts and international Customers
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
EF: I like to work alone, but I also like to work with smart, skilled and talented people. I always listen to others, because multiple points of view are always better than one. And you always, always have something to learn from everybody (as my Mother taught me).
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
EF: Yes, I certainly do...but I would like it to be a surprise for the next design competition!
FS: How can people contact you?
EF: They can contact me through my website www.gioiellidiele.it, or through my Instagram account eleonorafedericijewelry, or the Instagram account of my jewelry shop gioielleriamarinone. They can also e-mail me at gioielleriamarinone@gmail.com
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
EF: I am looking for the opportunity to express myself and I think I could be a great resource for Jewelry Houses who are searching for a Designer eager to create and to make a difference. Whoever is going to choose me, will not regret their choice because I am strong willing, loyal and a meticulous hard worker.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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