Francesco Pisicchio

MEET THE MAKER

I have experience with digital manufacturing, in particular with 3D printing for home use, in addition I have the Dassault Systemes certification of Collaborative Business Innovator for the Solidworks software and the 3DExperience platform. I have a good knowledge of Catia parametric software. Also I have the McNeel certification of Rhinoceros 3D. I am interested in artisanal production processes, but I have no experience in the field of artistic craftsmanship. In particular, I am interested in the Makers movement and the FabLab network that combine the most traditional craftsmanship with the latest generation technologies.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE PART IN iATELIER ONLINE PROGRAMME?

I decided to apply for the iAtelier Online program, as I believe it is useful for my professional activity, as the experience and skills of the workers and artisans can increase my wealth of knowledge relating to craftsmanship and to know the opportunities and limits of which the various materials are carriers. Therefore, I also want to be selected to be able to seize the opportunity to interface with professionalism that can facilitate the transition from planning to implementation and marketing of my product design projects.

From the collaboration with a craftsman and from the contamination of my business with artisan know-how I expect a mutual exchange of skills and opportunities for professional and human growth. In particular, I expect to understand some aspects relating to the opportunities and limits of craftsmanship and related production materials, in order to better calibrate the design phase with the appropriate precautions dictated by the empirical artisan and manufacturing experience.

WHAT IS YOUR FEEDBACK?

Of the iAtelier Online program, I was most interested in the possibility of collaborating remotely with a working group that subsequently developed a project in which the component of the centuries-old tradition of the mosaic techniques chosen for the project was contaminated and enriched with the taste and the use of modern technologies, with a view to transitional design.

The “Expert Talks” were useful sources of inspiration for our project, as they allowed us to deepen and update our cultural background on the latest technological discoveries that, to date, can be put at the service of the designer and the craftsman. for cheaper, more precise and faster processing than in the past. Surely, the use of 3d printing for the stone material was the intervention that pleasantly struck me for the potential and the freedom to range with the shapes that this device allows from the compositional point of view for the designer, ensuring that a material so endemically solid, it can be molded with great ease and draw lines and surfaces unthinkable until now. The Expert Talks on electronic devices also represented the reason for subsequent personal investigations on my part.

I think that participation in the iAtelier Online can affect my business, as on the relational level, it has allowed me to meet artisans and designers scattered throughout the various Italian regions that I hope to meet as soon as possible, to collaborate with them on new ideas.

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• Professional networking
• Creation of a prototype of a piece from the collection of the MixMatch working group
• Visibility on Crafting Europe, Artex and iAtelier Online channels
• Participation in the exhibition organized in Florence next spring.
• Greater awareness on the workings of mosaic techniques

FINAL PROJECT FOR iATELIER ONLINE

Click to view the PDF presentation of MixMatch project

One of the main strengths of the project lies in its replicability: it is in fact conceived through the use of assemblable and reproducible modules. This allows you to reproduce smoothly the whole process of creating the collection for most various contexts, without giving up the uniqueness that they bring characterizes the craftsmanship.

MixMatch is a furnishing system composed of five elements formally connected with it which makes them feel good together. terrazzo texture. The cardinal point of the collection is the sculptural juxtaposition in a covered space with the most dynamic version of the same mosaic texture. Demonstrated in this way, the collection is iconic.

The project is realized with the craftsgirl Vera Belikova and the designer Valentina Iannazzone.