Giulio Iacchetti. Ancient materials, modern use

Rather than discovering new materials, we need to rediscover ancient ones such as cement and ceramics, using them to create new expressive potential when reinterpreted and mixed with other materials. Cement can be made lighter and used in very thin layers as a surface for tables or lamps, with unexpected results. Ceramics can have some incredible uses in engineering.

In contrast, I can see very little use for innovative, futuristic materials.

Self-manufacturing is a generic term with a lot of stories behind it. It is important to bring back dignity and consideration for manual work and the potential of “craftsmanship”, knowing how to use your hands. This is the concept at the basis of my Internoitaliano project, a new system for manufacturing and selling furnishing items, bringing typically Italian values of design and technical skill to the global market thanks to distribution through the internet. The figure of the craftsman, a real person with a name and a face, is right at the centre of the project. There’s nothing new about it, simply the rediscovery of skills that bring together local materials such as Italian-grown walnut wood. I like the idea of reuniting the worlds of design and finished products.