by Valia Barriello.
A mother passes down her love for ceramic down to her daughter, and it goes on to become a passion and career. In the hands of Ilaria Innocenti, aka ilaria.i, ceramic art turns into porcelain dining sets decorated with graphic designs. The Modena designer’s collections contain words, which always hold a message, geometric shapes, and floral compositions. Whether it is an elaborate table setting or a mug for sipping your morning coffee, there is no shortage of choice in her collections.
Table setting ilaria.i – photo Ilaria Innocenti
Tell us about your work, when did you become passionate about porcelain?
Ever since I was young I had the chance to get to know and experience the world of ceramic. I was born in a small town in the province of Modena which, in addition to being known for the world’s best race cars, is famous for its ceramic district. My mother worked in this sector and once in a while she would take me to work with her and I would look around. When I got older I decided to attend the Modena Art Institute with a focus on ceramic. In truth, I have had many opportunities to fall in love with ceramic and porcelain over the course of my life.
Production of porcelain plates by ilaria.i – photo Giacomo Grandi
How did you start your career? When did you launch your brand? How did you find the right artisans to make your pieces?
ilaria.i was officially founded in 2012. At the time I was already freelancing and mainly dealt with interior design projects after having studied at Milan’s IED. My desire to start working with companies in the sector led me to design small collections to get my name out there and showcase my way of designing.
One of the first products was in porcelain just because I knew the manufacturing techniques and, thanks to my mother, I found manufacturers who made themselves immediately available to produce the projects. I still work and collaborate with some of them!
The Sempre Mug from the Special Day collection – photo Ilaria Innocenti; Insieme Mug from the Special Day collection – photo Ilaria Innocenti
Tell us how a plate is produced from the graphic design, the production, up until the pressing.
Once the concept of the collection has been established and the graphic design created (sometimes by free hand and other times via computer), the serigraphy system gets prepared. My products are made with a process I define as “semi-industrial”. There are industrial phases, like the creation of the porcelain plate, and others which are made by the hands of the artisans, as for example with the application of the decals on every plate.
Application of ilaria.i decal on a porcelain plate– photo Giacomo Grandi
What inspires your collections?
A good mix of personal experiences and images seen at fairs and exhibitions or while browsing through magazines from various sectors. Ultimately, I am influenced more and more by the concerns which are important to my community.
Plate from the Ciao collection – photo Ilaria Innocenti
Out of all the collaborations you’ve had with other brands, which was the most exciting?
The most exciting collaboration was definitely the one with Pastiglie Leone. For two reasons: firstly, I was able to include my experience as a new mother into a project; and secondly because we were able to take care of our users’ need to communicate their affection to their loved ones during the pandemic. I found it to be an extremely successful collaboration.
Viva la Mamma collection in collaboration with Pastiglie Leone – photo Ilaria Innocenti
With concept, production, sales, fairs, and communications phases, when you manage a small brand do you deal with everything yourself? What work do you enjoy most and what do you struggle with?
It is true I deal with a bit of everything, but this might be what I enjoy most about my job. It is never boring and every day I have different tasks. That said, I prefer to delegate tasks to my external consultants who surely are better than me in certain fields. For the communications’ and business strategy I’ve sought help from industry experts.
Mug from the Fruit collection – photo Ilaria Innocenti
If there any, what are the rules for setting a well-balanced table?
I don’t think there are real rules. I always like to put out a classical dining set and tablecloth (possibly ones inherited from a grandma or found at a flea market) and contrast them with a more contemporary piece: a colorful glass or perhaps even my plates!
Sunny day plate from ilaria.i – photo Ilaria Innocenti
Cover Image, Ilaria Innocenti
