“…And woman
I will try to express
My inner feelings and thankfulness
For showing me the meaning of SUCCESS…”
John Lennon
Listen to the song here
Our world in a concept store near the Budello in Alassio
Vayadù is a brand that permeates the spaces of its vacation homes.
Since its inception, I have always dreamed of dedicating a space to the arrival and departure of our guests, to welcome them and allow them to take home a little piece of us.
A space that would convey our world in a single breath and that could also be opened up to those who had not yet set foot in our homes.
Those who know me know that when a project pops into my head, I won’t rest until it sees the light of day… And so, at the beginning of spring, I rented a small shop on Corso Dante, a stone’s throw from Budello di Alassio, which caught my eye every time I passed by.
Together with the invaluable Sara from Homing Studio, my trusted interior designer, we decorated it in the colors of Vayadù and began to fill it with a selection of handcrafted products.
The doors of Spazio Vayadù opened with summer and lead straight into our world of inspiration and care. The story is entrusted to the space and the objects that inhabit it, designed to inspire beauty or to care for the beauty of women. Objects that speak of the work of skilled hands: my favourite craftswomen who create for the women who encounter them.
With this blog post I would like to take all my readers inside Spazio Vayadù, on a short journey into that female craft that has inspired me so much.
A space to welcome and inspire
Together with Sara of Homing Studio, we worked on a design that did not recall a shop in the classical sense, but let the atmosphere of our homes breathe.
The lines and volumes of the interiors are designed to welcome, while the palette reflects the brand’s colours, skilfully calibrated to inspire at first glance.
Starting with powder pink, a tribute to femininity and dance, which are close to my heart. The touches of forest green and natural wood elements are in honor of nature, which hosts us, and its seasons. And then there is milky white, which envelops everything and reminds me of a cuddle of well-being and a page on which to write an ever-changing story.
To complete the work, we chose woven raffia and wicker furnishings, which speak to me of summer and sunshine with their ripe wheat color.
And once again the Vayadù atmosphere takes shape right in front of our eyes in an alchemy of elements in dialogue with each other, bringing a curious smile to those who peep into this Spazio and a surge of inspiration to those who say thank you and leave.
Daniela and her Interra: a talent for ceramics
The journey into Spazio Vayadù continues with the selection of handcrafted creations that populate it. Starting with InTerra ceramics, a collection of unique pieces born from the magic of the earth transmuting into ceramics.
Interra also furnishes our homes with a deliberately raw style, embellished with textures obtained by imprinting fabrics, lace, and other materials onto the still-fresh clay.
After firing in the kiln, a special glaze colors the reliefs of the textures, enhancing their details and dressing them in a delicate, almost impalpable palette.
Behind InTerra is Daniela and her talent, which has emerged powerfully in her quest for her time, for a sustainable and happy life, between “family and work, slowness and hard work, clay and elegance”
We asked her what stories her ceramics tell and we can only use her own words in responding: “When I want to describe InTerra’s ceramics the first word I use is ‘imperfect’. […] InTerra’s is an imperfection that is loved,desired, looked for.
These edges that are never smooth, always different, are the mirror of what we are and what we should embrace with pride.”
At Spazio Vayadù in Alassio you will find small collections of InTerra to decorate the breakfast table with many different shades or larger pieces, such as vases or centrepieces, in which the texture remains clear in all its details.
Verde Olivia jewellery from the hands of Lady Alice
Our journey through Spazio Vayadù among my favorite artisans continues with Verde Olivia jewelry, a brand born from Alice’s passion for feminine elegance throughout the ages.
She is inspired by women and their taste, their personal idea of elegance, which she noticed even as a child in her grandmother’s gestures “with her Sunday ring” or in the lipstick her mother applied to her lips “immediately after putting on gold earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.”
Today, her creations take shape in an atelier as green as her name, where she collects ideas, objects and curious encounters. An emerald-green sitting room with doors that are always open, through which new inspiration enters every time: a different woman who tells her story without holding back.
Alice draws inspiration from these encounters for her personalized collections of limited edition designer jewelry.
Her creations in Spazio Vayadù also tell a story waiting to be ‘heard with the eyes’. They are inspired by our colours and are created to be recognised by the women who wear them, to satisfy their desire ‘not for vanity, but for presence’, as Alice would say.
The creations of Elisabetta and Manuela, the seamstresses of Maison Mael
I met Elisabetta and Manuela in Savigliano, the town where I live, just a stone’s throw from the Langhe.
I have always been fascinated by the magical workshop of Maison Mael, filled with rolls of fabric, colorful paper patterns, cheerfulness, and cut threads. Here, tailor-made garments that make women shine in all their beauty come to life.
But their vision and their work take them further: their motto is “helping ideas take shape,” meaning enabling all women to realize their creations.
That’s why there’s always a tailoring workshop in their studio! And I can’t tell you how many times they have tried to put me to work in front of a sewing machine!
Through their tireless work, they tell “stories of people’s dedication to their ideas,” which brings them closer to the spirit of Vayadù, which feeds and returns creative inspiration.
This is why I strongly wanted their creations in this space, asking them to create a collection of cushions, beach towels, and hair ties (scrunchies, in slang), using a fabric printed with the Vayadù pattern.
Cristina Pedratscher’s elegant photographic prints
I also chose a local artist for the prints: Cristina Pedratscher lives and works in Savigliano, my hometown.
When I met her, I immediately felt lucky: I find her work very interesting, using the camera as a mirror in which to capture emotions in black and white.
Her lens delves into the depths of the unconscious and speaks the expressive language of the body, immortalized in unusual movements and explored with highly contrasting chiaroscuro.
The skin and muscle tension take center stage. The skin as a boundary, as an accomplice to movement in releasing or receiving emotions. Just like in dance.
Perhaps that is why I love her photographs so much and wanted them at Spazio Vayadù. And Cristina brought here some self-shots from the ‘Elements’ project, which was born as an invitation to observe ourselves under different lights and points of view.
I conclude this brief tour by thanking the women and artists who said yes to this project, making Spazio Vayadù a unique place where you can marvel and fill up on inspiration.
I thank them above all because, through their lives, they show me every day “a new meaning of success,” closely linked to the ability to bring the most beautiful gift of oneself into the world. I think this is what John Lennon meant with the verses of his ‘Woman’.
If reading this has made you want to have these precious items in your home—even if you are far from Alassio—I can tell you that you will soon find them in a small e-shop associated with this site.
In the meantime, you can write to us and we will do our best to reach you as soon as possible, wherever you are.
