Since I was little I have always liked drawing and decorating the faces of people familiar and unfamiliar to me. I have always loved taking photos of things that were "beautiful" to me so that I could then re-propose them in my own way on anything, a piece of paper, glass or a piece of furniture.
My path becomes more solid when I have the opportunity to attend the State Institute of Art (metal and goldsmith art section). Ironically, the lack of the necessary materials for the laboratory was my luck as I necessarily had to stimulate my own creativity. We often had to create without the means available and therefore there were no alternatives. Having graduated with full marks, however, I decided that the world of jewelery did not satisfy me.
So I decide to become an interior designer. In the meantime, however, the passion for painting exclusive artistic stained glass windows grew in me (my parents had a glass factory). I had the pleasure of doing some exhibitions with my handcrafted glass works. In addition to this, I started to restore and modify often 'old' furniture to make it become very special pieces. This made me happy, taking something that was to be thrown away and giving it new life until it even became a rare thing. In all of this there has always been space to decorate and paint ceramics, create coordinated home accessories, decorate walls and much more...maybe too much! This, which many would define as artistic confusion, has always made me happy, allowed me to face life, which was not easy, and to create many small creative spaces thanks to which I could "escape" from reality.
Being the daughter of artisans was very useful for me, you can't imagine how many tools I have always had at my disposal! This certainly contributed to wanting to experiment with more creative forms. For about 15 years, therefore, I decorated while making every type of creation that came to mind. Year after year, however, I felt the need to make those moments of happiness become an integral part of my days and not just moments of time, often at night. So I decide, I want to do what I like!!!
Then I start thinking about something unique. I wanted something that was just mine. I spend sleepless nights and within two years I develop the idea: Swarovski everywhere! This is my new passion. Initially aimed mainly at decorations of vases, furniture, plates, etc. Then I seriously start thinking about jewelry. I wanted to create from the base to the finished product. A 100% handmade jewel. Then I start modeling polymer clay. However, I'll let you imagine how ugly the first earrings are. I had the perfect idea but the realization was unfortunately painful. As time went by I experimented with personal techniques for carving, cooking without deforming, decorating... I started using very small Swarovski until, after many months, I worked on the size of a millimetre!
And here I am today. I offer you something unique! I love using the 1mm Swarovski size to set writing like a micromosaic. My jewels are handmade from the base, often carved or modelled, fired, finished and finally always decorated with micro Swarovski. Another challenge was the weight. I created earrings that were large in size but had the lowest possible weight, so that they could be worn without problems all day long.
I had the pleasure of participating with this completely new technique in the 2020 Luxembourg art prize. To date this is my greatest passion. I love creating what makes you stand out, what hasn't already been done, something unique for every woman who wants it. Each creation is a piece of me, the part of me that I like and that I want to make whoever wears it happy. In addition to exclusive jewels, I love decorating shoes, glasses, bags, covers, frames and making polymer clay creations.
It was precisely with polymer clay that I created my very famous (thanks to the post on the Facebook page L'Abruzzese fuori headquarters and their article) Arrosticino key ring, which is now re-proposed by many creative pages. I also had the pleasure of receiving the photo of Verratti with my key ring, later published on my Instagram and Facebook profiles. These passions of mine have given me a lot of satisfaction, among my clients I have Francesca Cipriani (with whom we became friends), Manuela Ferrera of the Island of the Famous, Valeria Marini, Anna Tedesco of Men and Women, Lorella Maselli, Francesca Pascale. My jewels were worn in several episodes of Big Brother last year, Island of the Famous, Afternoon 5, Men and Women, Free Fall and published in two weekly magazines. I also had the pleasure of having the exclusive interview by Rete 8 Matinée conducted by the talented Paola De Simone in 2022 and of having an exhibition space of my own in September 2023 in the Fiera Sposi Pescara managed by the amazing Silvia Di Silvio who it allowed me to parade my jewels on the catwalk.
What do I expect for the near future? Follow me to find out together!
Katiuscia Monacelli
