Women and creativity: Design

With this series of articles dedicated to creativity in Verona, we would like to tell the stories of women who have dedicated themselves to aesthetics and savoir-­faire. Women of great taste and talent who promote the excellence of design, contributing to the image of the city as a place where you can find the best of Italian knowledge and refinement.

Monica and Flavia, Mémoire

Mémoire, the first French ‘brocante’ in Verona, is a place where old things are given a new life, now ready to fit in the most chic interiors. Monica and Flavia have opened this showroom to create a space dedicated to the idea of upcycling. They buy vintage furniture and decoration from vintage fairs and flea markets, then restore and transform them: a rustic sagra table becomes the focal point of an elegant dining room, 1950’s armchairs are stylishly reupholstered, and handmade Sicilian tiles are assembled to create a centerpiece.

‘We’ve always worshipped the culture of reuse as the most ethical approach to reducing waste, rethinking objects that we already have at our disposal. The idea of creative upcycling for interiors was born from our mutual passion for the beauty of vintage things’, — the two friends explain. After graduating in economics and law, they realized that their true vocation was creating interiors. Today, in addition to Mémoire, they specialize in interior design consultancy for private houses and businesses.

They love Verona, the city where they both live and work. ‘Verona  is  human-size,  it’s  a  city  where people-­oriented relationships are still very important. The clients often become our friends, which is really essential for us’.

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‘If you want to have a truly creative life, you should never be satisfied with your usual way of  doing  things,  even  if  it’s  well-­received  and  highly-paid.  The  search  for  something different should always continue. We need to reinvent ourselves while maintaining our own style’.

Cristina Fioraso, 120Mamelistrasse

Matilde Garofano’s favorite shop to buy excellent home textiles, 120Mamelistrasse dazzles its visitors with the playful interiors that its eccentric owner Cristina Fioraso creates. Most of the furniture is recycled. Washing machine baskets and building nets are turned into chandeliers, one of the counters used to belong to an antique pharmacy, and the old closet for fabrics is a gift from a friend.

‘The fabrics … it’s nice to touch them, see them move, smell them. The colors, how could you really see  them  on  a  computer  screen?  Only  a brick-and­mortar  store  can  tell  you  about  the  fabrics,  and then, there is also a social and aesthetic value in a store like mine. A shop can be an attraction, just like a monument, a place where you come to experience emotion’, — says Fioraso, who specializes in traditional brands of high quality, both Italian and international.

The owner keeps such inexpensive prices that her customers don’t even think of looking for an alternative online. ‘I do believe in affordable beauty born from respect for the environment and working process. I can tell the quality immediately, so even if a textile doesn’t have a famous label, it’s not difficult for me to propose it, as my customers trust my choices’. Cristina organizes events and exhibitions from time to time — she’s an established photographer and published author.

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‘Creativity is something you experience daily. I use it every day, helping my customers make a purchase or decorating a window. We all have some creativity inside, but to use it courageously, having faith in the light that appears out of nowhere, never concerning oneself with what others might think of your extravagant inventivity!’

Written by Elena Diachenko