Behind the Scenes: Stories of Italy

Milan-based brand Stories of Italy's mission has always been to shed a light on traditional Italian craft. We spoke with Co-founder & Creative Director, Dario Buratto, about the production of the iconic collection 'Macchia su Macchia', and the story behind this exceptional brand.

• Tell us the story behind Stories of Italy. How was the idea born?

My partner Matilde and I had worked many years together in the fashion industry. After several years, we realized we were very tired with the process behind fashion—it was extremely fast-paced, and styles became ‘old’ after one month! We wanted to do a creative project that was slower, creating products that didn’t become old after a season, products that are timeless and that can be sold for years to come.

The first materials we thought of working with were Murano glass and Carrara marble. We launched our company in January 2016, and, a few months later, we were approached by Vivienne Westwood who had fallen in love with our collections. We launched our first collaboration that year at Fuorisalone as part of Milan Design Week 2016. It all happened very unexpectedly. After that launch we started doing other collaborations that we continue to this day—we partner with architects to create lighting pieces for five-star hotels, we collaborate with other brands such as Diptyque to create collections together...

1. 1. How did you and your partner Matilde meet? How do you divide your roles?
   2.  

   We met at the university, we both studied fashion design in Florence. We met the first day of class and immediately became close friends. After we graduated, we each worked in different fashion houses until we decided to embark on this journey together. We both oversee the creative part of the business, while I oversee production.

    

   Tell us more about the inception and production process.

   I go to Murano every week to supervise the production process and the products we create. It is very important for me to be there while the production process is in place. That’s also where a lot of our ideas are born, from my interaction with the ‘maestro’. When creating new products, I go with an idea that I share with him, and we then discuss different production techniques and possibilities. These creations are the fruit of constant dialogue between myself and the maestro that has over 40 years of experience in blowing glass. While I have the aesthetic vision, he shows me old techniques that I had never seen before—we merge both to create new products.

   Usually the conception of ideas happens in our studio and showroom in Milan, while the production of our pieces happens in our production studios that are located in three cities: Murano for glass, Carrara for marble and Este for ceramics.

   The beautiful thing about Italy is that every city specializes in a different field on an artistic level. The idea behind Stories of Italy has always been to give a contemporary feel to these incredible traditions that have been developed and perfected for many years.

    

   What was the process of creating your Macchia su Macchia collection?

   The Macchia technique is a tradition that was born in Murano. It was a process of creating translucent color stains on the glasses. Going off of this technique, the maestro and I decided to modify it by reinterpreting this old technique into what is our ‘Macchia su Macchia’ collection today. We gave it an opaque effect, almost looking like smalt. Every glass has a fusion of 3, 4 even 5 colors, that we paint one on top of the other. We create layers on top of layers, and the final color is a fusion between the 5 layers of colors.

   For the color combinations, I prepare them myself. I stand in front of the large containers of color, and start mixing them. It’s a bit like painting. Then I see the different combinations and select the ones I like best.

1. "The beautiful thing about Italy is that every city specializes in a different field on an artistic level. The idea behind Stories of Italy has always been to give a contemporary feel to these incredible traditions that have been developed and perfected for many years."

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