Sprinkles of History

Each country has its household design names that the nation can be proud of. In Italy they have Giovanni Raspini, a brand now also available in Riga, exclusively at ladies fashion shoe boutique Madam Bonbon.

The brand is named after its creator, owner and main designer Giovanni Raspini and was born in 1972 as manufacturer of silverware.

“These people have built their own landscapes as if they didn’t have any concern beyond beauty,” once said a traveler of the Grand Tour in the 18th century, visiting the Tuscan countryside and Arezzo. The latter is the home of Giovanni Raspini the designer as well as the brand. Its main product line is home accessories and giftware in sterling silver. Building on its success the company decided to apply its excellent production skills to the jewellery.

Giovanni himself once started as an architect but then shifted from building houses to a much smaller scale – creating home accessories and jewellery. He’s a master of the ‘lost wax’ technique, which allows the oversized necklace or earrings look exquisite and yet be so light that you won’t get tired of wearing them all day long. Besides historically Raspini family has been great collectors of antiquities so it’s no surprise that jewellery by Giovanni Raspini looks like taken out of a historical painting.

Katrai valstij ir savi zīmoli, ar ko tā var lepoties. Itālijai tas ir Giovanni Raspini – zīmols, kas tagad pieejams arī Rīgā, tikai dāmu modes apavu salonā Madam Bonbon.

Zīmols nosaukts tā radītāja, īpašnieka un galvenā dizainera Giovanni Raspini vārdā un dibināts 1972. gadā.

“Šie ļaudis veidojuši ainavas ap sevi tā, it kā viņiem nerūpētu nekas cits kā skaistumus,” reiz savā dienasgrāmatā rakstīja kāds 18. gadsimta ceļotājs, apceļojot Toskānu un Areco pilsētu. Areco ir mājas kā dizaineram, tā arī zīmolam. Tā galvenā produktu līnija vienmēr bijusi sudraba interjera aksesuāri, bet, uzņēmumam augot un veiksmīgi attīstoties, nolemts izstrādāt arī izsmalcinātus juvelierizstrādājumus.

Pats Giovanni savulaik sāka kā arhitekts, bet tad nomainīja lielās formas – ēkas un ceļus – pret daudz mazākām. Viņa rotām raksturīga izsenis pazīstamā ‘lost wax’ tehnika, kas ļauj iespaidīga izmēra auskariem vai kaklarotai būt tieši tik vieglai, lai jūs nenogurtu, tos nēsājot visu dienu. Turklāt vēsuriski Raspini ģimene bijusi saistīta ar antīko lietu kolekcionēšanu, tādēļ nav brīnums, ka Giovanni Raspini rotas šķiet kā patapinātas no vēsturiskas gleznas.

Giovanni Raspini at work / Giovanni Raspini darba procesā