What does it mean to be a nomad today? Silvia Nervo per Zsiska
To be a nomad is to be a part of a community that is not tight to a place and feels at home in the world. Siska Schippers, decided to move to Thailand in the 90s and started to work with resin in a studio in Cha-Am, a small town two hours south of Bangkok, where she employed fourteen women. It took several years to get used to the resin; the team learned to master the material through trial and error. The fourteen women with whom Siska started the company still work for ZSISKA today. Most of their family members and children joined the company at a later stage.
FF: So Silvia, one trip to Thailand and you fell in love with Zsiska.
Silvia Nervo: It was all very random because I was on vacation in Thailand and I was busy with other things. I was involved in making bags for Upim. I love randomness to guide my life! So I came across Zsiska and they had unique designs that I have never seen before. I decided to contact them simply to ask if they were interested in entering the Italian market, that was in 2010.
FF: Now you live or travel a lot to Thailand?
Silvia Nervo: Before Covid I was there a lot more often, once to see the winter collection and once to see the summer and once to lay by the beach. I'm leaving tomorrow for the first time post covid.
FF: The studio is near bangkok?
Silvia Nervo: We are 200km south of Bangkok. It is a beautiful location, the factory is 200 meters from the sea.
FF: It is true that the factory has also become a bit of a family for its workers, that are now more than 100?
Silvia Nervo: Yes more than anything Siska has always fought to protect women since she founded the company in the 90’s. Most of the people who work with us are women and clearly child labor absolutely does not exist. All these things that maybe in other realities. Therefore the Thai government sent an acknowledgment precisely for this. She is over seventy, has no heirs and she is going to leave everything to her employees.
FF: How many monobrand stores all over the world?
Silvia Nervo: There is a mono brand store only inThailand. Something interesting that happened, we started to supply the museums. For example in Milan at the Museo del Novecento we have our small exhibition space with themed collections, therefore perhaps series that feature the works of artists. In Turin we are at the Gallery of Modern Art, at the Museum of Oriental Art and Palazzo Madama in Rome. We are in Palazzo Bonaparte and also at the Vicenza Jewelry Museum.
FF: The design is done specifically for each museum?
Silvia Nervo: Yes, the collaboration started almost straight away.
FF: How long will you stay in Thailand? Do you see yourself doing this forever?
Silvia Nervo: I will not stop, I’m going to do this until the end of my life. I’m going to travel with all those bags until I’m 80. I live in Italy, I do my own bags with no assistant, and I’m on the train with my two big bags, on my own. That’s what I always say. Never give up.
ZSISKA will be exhibiting at HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION
15 - 18 September 2023
A dedication to sustainability, craftsmanship, design and manufacturing with the ultimate accuracy. HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION explores a cultural challenge, is sustainability an utopian fantasy or a possibility?