Studying in Rome where practising jewelry design, music or graphic design was a way of challenging awareness and cultivating avant-garde approaches. Setting up her own brand, however, was a turning point for how Daria perceived the future of her career. «The industry was in a way hard for me, I didn’t feel connected to it, I didn’t feel part of it», she says while recalling how through that crisis she reconnected with her values, understanding how to work in the industry would mean to find ways of improving it.

You work with metal, right? How did you start to work with this material?

Yes, the thing I like the most is the versatility of this material, the fact that in any case it can pass from the liquid state to the solid state and can be modeled, but above all the firmness and flexibility of this material is what reflects me the most.

How did you discover it?

First I studied at IED, then jewellery design, and later I landed in the eyewear world, where I worked for seven years, more or less as an eyewear designer between Rome and Milan. And then, at the end of this journey, I decided to make a radical change, to come and live in Barcelona.

What made you decide to go to Barcelona?

To make a radical change, to come and live in Barcelona and to continue studying to become an artisan. Barcelona has always been a city that I liked from the first time I came here, I was fascinated by the organic forms of Gaudì, it had a huge impact on me. The city is very international where meetings are held, there are various cultures, exchanges and the sea which is very important and it felt right in the energy that the people have. There is an energy and a beautiful vibe here. Art is everywhere, I feel very inspired. 

How long do you work on a piece?

A lot depends on the mood. In the sense that the creation is really mine, it's a moment of opening, the ideas also arrive and it becomes more concrete, everything flows in the process. 

It’s like meditating.

Yes, it’s a meditative state. It almost seems that time stops and that there is a real disconnect from reality. Suddenly, you reenter the real world and you see that time just flew by and you didn't realize it. The succession of this production also becomes a real meditation. Time just vanishes.

Do you work by yourself?

This project I do by myself, and then I have a shop Metal Lab Bcn which is also an atelier near Plaça d'Espanya, very central, that we share with two other girls who also have their own project and we also do courses. For example, this morning I had a course to teach the techniques of jewelry. We design bespoke pieces for the person who comes and they make them themselves. 

Also in metal?

Yes, the technique I use most is lost-wax casting which gives you the possibility to create larger volumes than direct metal processing. You can really play with its shapes without limits. Initially a prototype is made in wax, then it’s taken to the foundry where they transform it into metal and then the same piece you had made in wax but in metal returns to you and from there I start working on it again. Even the ancient Romans used this technique to make statues, using casts that they made themselves, then passing from the wax shape with plaster molds where the metal was poured inside which in turn took the shape of the wax now dissolved. This ancient method is still called "Lost Wax Casting".

You are encouraging people to find their natural beauty.

There is a great need for a return to authenticity and this is exactly what I feel, which is missing in everything. And yes it is true that in any case mental health is also reflected in the physical and in the harmony that exists. It is precisely the awareness and acceptance of one's own characteristics that become someone’s strength.

After moving to Barcelona did you feel that you had to break a bit what you had learned from school?

Certainly, schools are very theoretical, then real life is work especially when you work in a creative field. It's very different from what you expect. Comparing yourself, working and understanding slowly, with experience you manage to find  own path and your own style also in drawing. School is a beautiful point of departure but then what you really learn the most is what comes out of that experience over time.

DARIA PACELLI will be exhibiting at HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION
17 - 20 February 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?