How did you end up in the world of interior design?
At the age of 15 I lived in Milan and I used to read magazines of interior design.My dream was to work for one of them .When I finished school ISAD (architecture and design) I started to send my resume to several places and the same magazine of my dreams (Grazia Casa) and the architect Stefano Colombo himself called me .I could not believe it! Since that moment my life has never stopped .I worked for Rizzoli and Mondadori,always as a free – lance because I have never had a boss in my life ,although I was offered to work under contract several times. Later on I worked in the image of firms such as Boffi and Cappellini International ,with whom I am still in touch .I settled down in Ibiza last year after 16 years in Kenya ,where I worked in several projects of villas and hotels ,including the “Billionaire Resort” in which Flavio Briatore commissioned me to design the reception and private room of his loft ,where I still have a shop.The company that I founded in Kenya (BE CLEVER) continues producing furniture ,lamps and complements ( you can find the same ones on the island)and I am also thinking about making a donation to everybody who has worked with me all these years.I will donate the company ,so the seed that I planted can give results and the people who made my dream come true may have a job and a market in Kenya.
What kind of sensations do you try to transmit in your work?
My work is the result of my visions and the feelings that I want to transmit in those who look at my things would be the same as the ones that go through my soul because this is the reason and the engine for living.
Tell me 3 projects that the recall or visit produce great satisfaction on you:
The first project is my home at the beach in Kenya .It was one of the strongest visions I had in my soul. Imagine that there is not a drawing or project of this house (I will send you some photos RUBINO ISLAND),everything emerged from my head ,and the journalists who have asked me to publish the house several times could not believe their eyes. Another project that I really liked was one of the apartments in the Billionaire Resort ,Kenya .The owner is a very important person in Italy .I can not say his name .He has the largest and most luxurious of the 22 apartments in the resort .I have done a complete job,from the project to the production of all the furniture ,lamps and decorations.It was an incredible job,very hard though. And it turn out to be so good in the AD International magazine ,that they came to visit it with the director of the magazine but they have not been able to publish it as a matter of privacy.
The third project is the last one I have been working on and I hope to do something more. Chateau Castigno,in the south of France ,it is a well known hotel ; a very different concept in which the rooms of the hotel are located in cottages of a medieval village .The owner is a wine producer and his wife ( the very creative Tine ) worked in the cinema for years ,so they let me do everything I wanted to .One of the cottages (Maison d´ Amis) has nine rooms ,and each one is inspired by one of the nine wines that they produce .There is also a Michelin star restaurant where we have placed many TDN lamps that we have produced totally by hand in Kenya. I consider this work as the recognition of my return to Europe.
Which is the biggest difficulty an interior designer has to face?
One of the greatest difficulties in my job is the perception of the work itself; they do not always have the correct proportion to transform the visions into reality .We have to lead the client into our vision ,step by step ,making our same enthusiasm to participate with a common style and that will base on the confidence of our creativity and experience.
To where you want to walk Ibiza, urban and architectural level?
Ibiza has possibilities elsewhere in the world no, for many reasons, first because of the context in which I placed second by investments made here. I would love that the island represent an example worldwide of architecture and urbanism lit, where they meet, respect for nature, history and traditions, with the look on a sustainable future. Spaces with natural farms, villas with autonomous energy, eco-sustainable architecture, urban planning that preserves the history and promote innovations in an artistic key. Revista