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Interview with Giulia di Pace
We talked with the Creative Director of Paola Grande Gioielli
Fashion
February 6th, 2018
February 6th, 2018
Paola Grande Gioielli is an institution. A high-jewelry atelier that, thanks to the generational union between mother and daughter, successfully communicates, in its delicate complexity, that spirit that distinguishes and defines the ethos of the brand.
Giulia di Pace, daughter of Paola, has high jewelry in the blood and thanks to her design studies has infused the brand new lymph and energy, keeping intact the unique and unmistakable allure that makes Paola Grande Gioielli special: a sophisticated balance between Neapolitan tradition and modern creative intuition.
What pushes Giulia to create?
"A creative impulse, almost always uncontrollable and unexpected".
Many new projects and great plans for the future, we talked with the talented Giulia di Pace to find out more about what lies behind the scenes of the world of fine jewelry.
#1 What should we know about Paola Grande Gioielli's Creative Director?
Paola Grande Gioielli style at the bottom is the style of Giulia di Pace and everything is the normal consequence of its being. I believe that the jewels that I design reflect fully my personality, my way of being: discreet, rigorous, sometimes introspective, feminine, but at the same time dark. They are jewels that arise from a very personal concept of chaos, "entropy", of distortion and then come to that aesthetic perfection made of cleanliness, linearity, overlapping. They arise from a unique thought, from an inner world in which there is neither a beginning nor an end, but everything develops on the wave of a common thread.
#2 Jewelry flows in your blood. How much did the family tradition affect your choice to become a jewelry designer?
The passion for jewelry was not born, it is as if it had always been part of me, at the beginning in a more unconscious way, then in a mature and visceral way. For 5 generations my family has been dealing with jewelry, but each of us has interpreted it differently. Each person is unique and therefore the relationship with work and with what we are passionate about is different; in the family we have experienced all the fields of this wonderful world; from the wholesaler jewelry, to the unique and customized jewel, from the diamond specialization based in Antwerp, to the creative and contemporary atelier...
In fact, I feel that Paola Grande Gioielli is not just a brand, but a project born of the need to unite two worlds and two generations; that of a mother and a daughter. Paola Grande, and me, Giulia di Pace, designer of the brand. Moreover, the fact of having had a more artistic and not a designing of jewelry helped me to look at this world from a creative and methodological point of view, different, more personal and without necessarily following classical methods.
#3 Paola Grande Gioielli stands out precisely because it is not a simple atelier but a creative workshop where tradition and innovation meet. What is your secret to being able to combine these two elements in such a unique way?
Tradition is fundamental and is the starting point because this is where the art of jewelry resides, knowledge, technique and true craftsmanship. But today technology has made great strides and gives us the opportunity to evolve both creatively and technically. The secret to combining tradition and innovation is precisely that of being able to experiment with innovative designs, preserving the charm and experience of traditional high-end jewelry. The prototype of the Spinae collection, for example, was made entirely with 3D technology, without which the perfection and subtlety of lines that run after each other could not have existed.
#4 Speaking of your creations, is there a jewel that you have created that you would not be able to give up and would you like to be present in future collections?
Yes, the Uncino (the Hook) because it is an eclectic object, one of the most iconic, and that assumes a unique style depending on the variant in which it is made: urban in the silver version with semi-precious stones, tribal in the front/back version in silver and bronze, precious in white gold and diamonds on the tips, black rhodium-plated rock.
#5 And instead there is a jewel in particular that you have not yet realized but what dreams of creating in the future?
There are many! The beauty of my work is that there is no limit to creativity. With metal, you can give life to everything you want!
#6 What is it like to see someone wearing your creations?
When I meet someone wearing my jewels I feel a sense of pride mixed with curiosity: I think about what that person thought when he decided to wear that particular jewel. Why he chose that object and the way he liked it ... and then somehow the paternity is shared with the interpretation of the person who wore it.
#7 What kind of woman do you think when you start designing new designs?
The woman I think of when I create a new collection is a woman with a contemporary style. An active, dynamic, urban, cosmopolitan woman.
A woman who knows how to loves herself, who is fulfilled and that can even buy the jewel herself. I think of mothers and daughters, women who work but also worldly women. Lovers of art and beauty. Women with whom I can relate to, friends, coworkers, everyday women. And I think that a Paola Grande jewel identifies itself precisely in its ability to be suitable for every occasion and moment of the day and therefore suitable for the most varied facets and needs of women.
#8 How does Paola Grande Gioielli communicate to the new generations?
Paola Grande Gioielli communicates to contemporary mothers and daughters. Today the role of the jewel has changed: it is an accessory to all effects and its value is demonstrated not so much by its preciousness but rather by how much is worn with pleasure. Our goal is to wear a jewel in gold and diamonds with the same ease with which one is worn in silver and bronze. The materials alternate and merge into an "easy-to-wear" jewel concept.
#9 Which are the biggest challenges you meet in your work and how do you manage them?
The biggest challenges are often connected with production and designing; to quality control and the management of the “ad hoc” that may imply also bigger responsibilities. We work with incredibly tiny and delicate objects, often very precious by keeping the really high standard and a impeccable quality control isn’t always easy… the secret is to stay focused and to communicate thanks to a well-structured team working.
#10 Which are your major sources of inspiration? How do you manage to merge them in the various collections of Paola Grande Gioielli?
The concept of a jewell borns and develops inside of me.
It’s a creative push, uncontrollable and unexpected, it comes naturally by simply observing the world around me and then it develops through a methodology made of in-depth analysis and research. They are jewels that represent my inner world and that take shape according to my imagery. An ethereal allure surrounds them, but the geometries define them. Some objects have a real personality and a story to tell.
There’s a ring, for example, of the Entropia line, that besides being openable, it holds a rock crystal pyramid behind which lies a painting (each one is unique) that reflects itself through the stone, like a kaleidoscope. Each image represents a micro-world made of meanings, dreams, and reminiscences.
#11 The meticulous research of materials is one of the distinct traits of Paola Grande Gioielli. Is there a material that you personally prefer?
I prefer noble metals like gold, in all its colors, because as the word itself says, it maintains a better duration in time and from the aesthetic point of view I prefer everything that is ethereal and crystalline so diamonds, the quartz, and rock crystals.
#12 What do you see in your future and in the future of Paola Grande Gioielli?
For now, there is the launch of the new e-commerce that will keep me extremely busy, then there is a project on site overseas, but I can not talk about it yet... but the passion and the ambitions are many, the important it is channeling them in the right way and without too much haste, because with the right constancy and determination things come by themselves!
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