Nicola Bacchilega

G – First of all, what do you see in this ink blot?

N – I admit I’ve never taken this kind of test. This image gives off a sense of formidable strength, and I see natural shapes and patterns in it which remind me of Alexander McQueen’s Plato’s Atlantis collection.

G – I’m starting all these interviews with a question about childhood, as I think it is the most inescapably universal of common experiences.       

We’ve all been kids, but we’ve all been different kids. It’s interesting to see how as children we’re walking antennae and receptors, hoovering in the different environments and stimuli we encounter and printing them perpetually into our brain – with radically different effects for each of us. We change so much throughout the years, and yet if you squint you can see when the seeds of your personality, taste and passion were first planted.

Exploring your memories, can you find traces of your current profession in your childhood?

N – I grew up surrounded by women working in a variety of fields such as fashion, pottery and homemade knitting. Certainly this instilled in me a knowledge and eye for form, beauty and product crafting. Since I was little I had a passion for dressing dolls, and by the time I was 6 years old, I had already created my own style.

In addition, my parents owned an aquarium store, and I would spend hours marveling at the movements and colors of those fish. I remember I loved drawing and getting lost in my thoughts, lying on the floor like a budding child painter. I would also admire Mom doing her makeup and hair in the bathroom.

Aesthetics was something I always understood.

G – As kids, almost all of us aspire to become iconic figures like pop star, teacher, pilot, cook, astronaut. Then, growing up, you’re progressively exposed to a whole world of other jobs (and, in recent years, brand new jobs, with mysterious names like NFT artist and blockchain developer).

Your path started with ceramics and then moved on to fashion. When did you discover the profession of ceramist, and then of fashion and jewelry designer? Did they immediately spark in you a sense of belonging, or did you come to this role later, by another route?

N – My artistic journey began in Faenza, where I attended the art school. There, I discovered ceramics, a fascinating material that I still use today to shape the first prototypes that I then transform into jewelry. During my studies in Turin (Fashion Design -ndr), I started to apply my sculptural approach to the body, shaping it in movement and bringing it to life through new forms and volumes – you see, the transition to fashion was spontaneous.

Today I also use contemporary technologies such as 3D printing to translate my art into jewelry, but I still feel a sense of belonging towards ceramic.

I shape fabric, I shape matter, and everything has balance.

G –  The name of your brand is a play on the name of your hometown, Faenza. Can you tell us more about it?

N – Faenza is the heart of all my research, the home of great ceramic artists of the 1960s such as Carlo Zauli and Ivo Sassi. Faïence, the French name for Faenza, is the French and English term for tin-glazed pottery. This is where my studio is located, my brand and I are de Faïence.

The name is also a play on the words ‘defiance’ and ‘défaillance’, representing respectively an element of challenging obstacles and stereotypes, and an element of recognizing your imperfections and shortcomings and working on them.

G – What influence do you think Faenza, as a place and as a community, had (and still has) on your growth and path?

I believe that clay is a unique material, mother of all things. This is what makes the act of creating even more exciting. There is life in my creations.

The tradition of ceramics is still very much alive today in Faenza, a city that mostly thrives off artistic ceramic production. It hosts several fairs and events that gather artists from all over the world, and it is home to the International Museum of Ceramics, which I visit before starting any new collection.

Faenza continuously inspires me. It always reveals to me new interpretations of this unique material that has endless avenues of expression.

G – What is a défaillance, an obstacle or disappointment that you have encountered with your brand?

N – As you know, in May 2023 a flood hit the Romagna region. My house and studio were destroyed, and consequently all my work, materials and instruments. A good 8 meters of water and clay mud covered my life for days.

Despite all I lost, I am grateful that it happened to me because it gave me new awareness, and confirmed my tenacity to work hard for what I want.

I also thank all the people who helped me rebuild the new studio, and the company in Monza which donated sewing machines, tables and irons to me. I am moved by this demonstration of solidarity and generosity.