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Algares: ancient materials, modern design

 

The motto of Algares is: ancient materials, modern design.
The idea is to capitalize on the historical background of the Made in Italy, whose know-how is now risking extinction.
By founding the brand Algares, Alba Gallizia designed and produced different sets of products, basing each on a special crafmanship.

 

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Algares makes small objects which have a specific purpose and use, each with its own aesthetic ad decorative meaning. For example: Oglass and Ocuir.
The jewels represent the first stage of a project in fieri, which will eventually include also furniture pieces and leather goods. Presently, Alba Gallizia is developing a line of accessories and jewels for both men and women, having in mind the metropolitan traveller of nowadays.
Three familes of jewels: one in bronze, one in gilded silver filigree, and one in leather, silver and bronze; the latter is also for men. Some jewels include cameos made of coccipesto, or with precioius stones.
The involvement of different craftsmen has of crucial importance: specialized in filigree, cocciopesto paving, brass and bronze, leather and wood. Being an architect, Alba Gallizia developed a close collaboration with these craftsmen.

 

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The coccipesto cameos are her invention, the result of a patient and lasting reserach on these materials. The filigree jewels combine a traditional technique with a “nest” design, which I invented. Cocciopesto in an ancient material, imported to Italy by the Phoenicians and subsequently improved by the Romans, used to finish floors and walls, with its own special properties. Its materiality derives from its composition, being made of the production left-overs of bricks and tiles, with the addition of sand, marble and other stones of different sizes and grains, all amalgamated with a fine lime. Its colour is that of its components. Alba Gallizia is fascinated by the depth and chromatic richness of cocciopesto, so warm and shiny; cocciopesto is synonymous of re-use.

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Bronze possesses its own special chromatic quality, warm and brilliant; when it ages, it acquires a glow which is both precious and luminous.
The craft of leather belongs to Italian history and culture; she appreciates the flexibility of its possible uses and finishes. It ages beautifully.

 

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more. www.algares.com

 

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