Puglia

The precious wood of Nalj




From the Venice Lagoon, or from Africa, Indonesia … in the name of nature. Annalisa Mirizzi and Mimmo Demattia are the two jewelry designers of Nalj, a small Apulian brand based in Polignano a Mare, a town that stands on a rocky spur and is a tourist destination. The two designers have chosen to use different types of wood to make their jewels. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings are therefore composed of kauri, millennial New Zealand wood, or American walnut, Lebanese cedar, olive, oak, ebony, wenge, accando semiprecious and semiprecious stones, 925 silver and gold. But not only. Another idea of ​​Nalj, in fact, is to use the wood of the Venetian briccole,

Anello realizzato con il legno di una briccola
Anello realizzato con il legno di una briccola

The briccole of Venice are those oak poles planted in the middle of the water to facilitate the direction of the boats that ply the lagoon. The briccole last for decades, but periodically (after about five to ten years) they must be replaced. The jewels of the Nalj line, therefore, reuse this wood tempered by the wind of the Venetian lagoon to make their own jewels. Years ago, for example, with this wood Nalj presented a collection in combination with the luxury motorboat brand Riva.
Anello con legno kauri
Anello con legno kauri

Anello in legno e argento
Anello in legno e argento
Anello in legno e argento by Nalj
Anello in legno e argento by Nalj
Anello in legno e cubic zirconia
Anello in legno e cubic zirconia
Collana con legno e argento dorato
Collana con legno e argento dorato

Collana by Nalj
Collana by Nalj

Gondole e briccole a Venezia
Gondole e briccole a Venezia







Le Carose, unusual South

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In Italy, most of the jewelry brands are based in the North, or in Tuscany and in the area around Naples. But there are exceptions. Toco d’Encanto is a jewelery shop in Nardò, in the province of Lecce (Puglia), which a few years ago invented original lines of jewelery and costume jewelery. It cannot be said that they lack the initiative. The compositions have a name or, better, a brand: Le Carose, controlled by a company, Pink Mood, which is headed by Stefano Ronzino, but which is based in Milan. The name needs an explanation: in the Salento dialect Le Carose means girls. And the brand’s jewels are aimed at them. Part of the bijoux has, in fact, the shape of small dolls.

Collana Carosa, in ottone dorato, testa in perla, gonna fantasia marrone
Collana Carosa, in ottone dorato, testa in perla, gonna fantasia marrone

The jewels are made with synthetic stones or Swarovski crystals, but also with materials such as silver, aluminum, brass, nickel-free. The idea is so original that they are keen to emphasize that they have patented the brand, something actually, which doesn’t seem so bizarre. What is the philosophy of the collections? Well, maybe that slightly dolcegabba style, which emerges from the video they made some time ago: a vaguely rebellious woman in the more traditional South. With a Le Carose pendant around his neck, of course.
Collana in bronzo dorato
Collana in bronzo dorato

Orecchini groumette in bronzo con cristalli Swarovski
Orecchini groumette in bronzo con cristalli Swarovski
Orecchini Empire in argento e pietre sintetiche
Orecchini Empire in argento e pietre sintetiche
Collana in argento dorata e cristalli Swarovski
Collana in argento dorata e cristalli Swarovski
Anello colelzione Happy, in argento dorato e cristalli
Anello colelzione Happy, in argento dorato e cristalli

Anello in argento dorato e smalto
Anello in argento dorato e smalto







Jewels for an aperitif with Roberta Risolo




The global health crisis leads the world of jewelry to rethink the way we communicate. Here is a new one: aperitifs via Instagram. The idea is by Roberta Risolo, goldsmith artist from Otranto, a small (and enchanting) village in Puglia (it is also the most eastern point of Italy). The designer inaugurated a series of events called Aperitif with jewel overlooking the sea, live on Instagram from Otranto on the profile www.instagram.com/robertarisoloartjewels. The desire expressed by the designer “is to give a positive message, shortening distances through new digital tools, and to share the beauty of Otranto, talking about craftsmanship and jewelry with everyone”. Also through the words of history scholars such as Emanuela Fogliadini and François Boespflug.

Roberta Risolo nel suo atelier a Otranto
Roberta Risolo nel suo atelier a Otranto

Meanwhile the Atelier Roberta Risolo Art Jewels in the ancient village of Otranto is ready to welcome visitors following all the current indications in terms of safety. Fantasy in promoting your business, therefore, but also in your work.
Anello con legno d'ulivo e perla
Anello con legno d’ulivo e perla

Her creations, she explains, are linked to the culture of Salento, both for the characteristic materials such as olive wood and for the architecture of its territory. Like the rose window of the Cathedral of Otranto, the rings in olive wood and pearl, the pendants inspired by the decorative motifs of the Basilica of Santa Caterina di Alessandria in Galatina and much more.
Anello con citrino
Anello con citrino

After her studies, interest in goldsmithery led Roberta Risolo to Vicenza, one of the Italian jewelry districts, where she attended specialization courses and had her first work experiences. Back in Puglia, today she alternates teaching with the activity of her Atelier in Porta Terra, inaugurated in 2016. Her motto: “Always believe in the beauty of your dreams”.
Roberta Risolo, lavorazione delle Chiavi di Otranto
Roberta Risolo, lavorazione delle Chiavi di Otranto

Orecchini con perle
Orecchini con perle

Pendente Chiave di Otranto
Pendente Chiave di Otranto

Anello con ametista
Anello con ametista







Italy tour with Trolbeads

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From Trollbeads silver elements to add to the bracelets with icons of food, Carnival and architecture of the various Italian regions ♦ ︎

This time to amaze is not the search for a different, unusual, surprising design. Instead, it’s the choice of the theme devised by Trollbeads: the regions of Italy. This country, in fact, has an incredible variety of landscapes, traditions, foods. And the Danish brand has decided to start a Italy tour through a collection that offers the possibility to customize the bracelets with beads reminiscent of typical dishes and carnival masks.

The first available regions of the collection are Lazio, Piedmont, Puglia and Sardinia.

Il bracciale Piemonte Mio
Il bracciale Piemonte Mio

For example, for Lazio the symbols chosen are bucatini, a pasta similar to spaghetti that become a thin cane, Rugantino, a character from the Roman comic theater, and the Spanish Steps with its 135 steps of white travertine. For Piedmont, the symbols are the agnolotti, the popular mask of Turin Gianduia and the Mole Antonelliana. For Puglia, the orecchiette, the classic Pugliese pasta, the Farinella mask of the Putignano Carnival and the trullo, an ancient stone house with a cone-shaped roof, were chosen. Finally, for Sardinia here are the malloreddus, pasta specialties of the Sardinian cuisine, the mamuthones, masks created for ancestral rites of fertility, and the nuraghe, cylindrical stone buildings. The elements are all in silver, to be added to the bracelets with a lobster clasp and colored glass beads.




Il bracciale Puglia Mia
Il bracciale Puglia Mia

Il bracciale Lazio Mio
Il bracciale Lazio Mio
Il bracciale Sardegna Mia
Il bracciale Sardegna Mia

Bracciale della collezione Regioni d'Italia
Bracciale della collezione Regioni d’Italia