UNSCRIPTED with Luca Nichetto: Tinkering with Glassy Memories

From scorching glass furnaces of Murano to pleasant, sunny mornings of Stockholm, UNSCRIPTED conversation with Italian designer, Luca Nichetto, traverses years, distances, and adventures. The founder of Venice and Stockholm-based Nichetto Studio – a multidisciplinary practice specialising in product and industrial design, architecture, and art direction – recounts fond escapades from his childhood, details of his first date, and how an international basketball championship at the age of 16 gifted him ‘a dream come true' moment.

A graduate of the University Institute of Architecture Venice, Nichetto is counted today among the most important young designers emerging from the Italian design scene. Projects coming out of his studio, which includes products, apparels, lighting, furniture, and spaces, tell emotional tales built on a vocabulary of materials and animated by a grammar of form. Some of his most notable works that reflect the power of storytelling, include Sucabaruca coffee set for Canadian brand Mjölk, which is inspired by 60s cartoon character Carmencieta; a fashion collection for La Manufacture that borrows the moral codes and mindset from furniture design, and the Easy Peasy Lamps shaped in the form of bells that allow users to connect, play and interact with his multi-coloured units.

“My childhood was almost like being in the books of Tom Sawyer,” says Nichetto in the 18-minute episode as he recalls his early days of basketball madness, incessant playing with friends on streets and going out in a small boat in the Venetian lagoon. Born in 1976 in Murano - the centuries old centre of Venetian glass - it was growing around the meticulous craft of his grandfather (a master glassmaker in one of Murano’s factories) that young Nichetto learnt about the essence of craftsmanship and the magic of turning ideas into products. “Seeing my grandfather,” explains the 45-year-old designer, “what I learnt is that one of the most beautiful things that can happen to you is when your passion becomes your job. You need to be able to understand how lucky you are to have this luxury and you need to continue to train yourself to be curious".

A fond anecdote from his late Murano days that he shares with STIR, is how during his art school's summer break he would knock on the doors of glass factories to sell his sketches in return for money that he could spend with friends. “It was a sort of riot we used to do, and it was so much fun,” he reminisces with a smile.

Venice is all about pastel colours. During sunset, you get beautiful reflections on the lagoon. You get this warm light that is almost orange on façade of the palaces and houses. This is something that is really a part of me. – Luca Nichetto

On UNSCRIPTED, Nichetto, whose formative works have been with Murano glassmaker Salviati and lighting company Foscarini, discloses why he decided to set up his practice in Venice and Stockholm, and the best thing about working in these two cities. “Sweden happened because of love and it’s where my family is,” he says, “while Venice is a place that I feel a strong connect with".

Get to the know more about the lesser-known side of Luca Nichetto in the full conversation – from his whackiest habit, pet peeves, and recent dreams, to his idea of dealing with rejections and popular misconceptions people have about him.

UNSCRIPTED
Curated by Pramiti Madhavji (Consultant, Content Adviser, STIR), UNSCRIPTED is a STIR-original series of quick-witted video interviews with leading design professionals who give a peek into their undiscovered lives. A melting pot of quests, revelations and quirks, the series releases a new episode every Sunday as designers reveal unheard and unknown nuggets from their lives, in response to 30 questions.  

All photographs © Nichetto Studio. Images may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, or used in part or whole without obtaining permission. The photographs in this video are not licensed for personal, commercial, or public use, or use in the public domain in any form.