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F5: Luca Nichetto Appreciates Spritzes, Murano, Challenges + More

09.23.22 | By
F5: Luca Nichetto Appreciates Spritzes, Murano, Challenges + More

Born in Venice, Luca Nichetto’s artistic talents were inspired by the Murano glassmaking industry. Years later, after graduating, he joined Murano-based glassmaker Slaviati before becoming a product designer and consultant for lighting company Foscarini. In 2006, Luca founded his eponymous multidisciplinary design practice back in Venice, specializing in industrial design, product design, and design consultancy. Since the beginning, Nichetto Studio has worked with different brands and organizations – these collaborations have become a cornerstone of his work. Luca’s influence soon expanded beyond Venice and Italy’s borders to reach a more international audience. In 2011, he went on to move to Stockholm, Sweden, and opened a second studio that brought together his Italian flair with a modern, sustainable Swedish spirit. The unique position has only added to Luca’s worldwide acclaim and beyond the confines of the design industry.

Over the years, Luca has served as art director for many international design brands. He’s lectured and led workshops at several universities, including serving as a professor of design at his alma mater, the Università Iuav di Venezia (IUAV). Luca has sat on juries for international design competitions, as well. His work is often featured in exhibitions and has been the subject of retrospectives in cities including London, New York, and Beijing. Luca’s highly researched, innovative projects have earned him international awards for designs that range from products, accessories, and furniture to architecture, exhibition design, and branding.

Today, Luca Nichetto is joining us for Friday Five!

balk light-skinned man with dark facial heart wearing glasses and modern clothing

Luca Nichetto \\\ Photo: Morgan Norman

exterior of Murano building

Photo: Sue Hutton

1. Murano

It’s been exactly 10 years since my last Friday Five, but this pick will never change: Murano will always be on the list of my favorite things. For how much my work allows me to travel and discover beautiful cities all around the world, Murano is always a place where I like to come back to. It’s home and you never get tired if you have a home like this, right?

set of colored pencils being used

Photo courtesy 3daysofdesign

2. Color Pencils

I do have a team that continues to grow, and we for sure have to adapt to the 21st century. My collaborators and I use all the technological tools needed but I’m old school too: give me a pen, colors, and paper and I’m good to go, nothing else needed. I like to be the first one at work, to take some time with myself, and to simply draw. It’s liberating for my creativity.

Aperol spritz with appetizers outdoors

Photo: Rosshelen/Getty Images

3. Spritz

For an Italian, spritz is not only a superb beverage for aperitif but a moment of peace, fun, and relaxation. That’s because it is usually taken after a long work day, with friends, in the square, among joking and laughing. It’s not very common in Stockholm, where I live, and every time I have the occasion to have one, I take it. Its dominant taste? Joy, I would say.

David Bowie sitting down, leaning against a wall, and smiling

Photo: Alan Lewis

4. David Bowie

I love music. I listen to it when I’m walking to my studio in the morning, when I’m walking back home, when I’m drawing, between a meeting and another, and above all there is him: David Bowie. Love his vibes, his energy, his revolution, and most of all his ability of reinventing himself. There was not a single style, not a single genre – there was him on the stage doing whatever he believed. Love that.

detail of a modern chess table

Photo courtesy Salvatori

5. Challenges

The things that I love definitely have me jumping out of my comfort zone. I can’t be more excited when that happens. I always try to do something unexpected – not only for my clients, but also for myself. I need it. I feel myself much more interested, involved, and happy when I have to design something I’ve never designed before. There is always an opportunity for new challenges, and I love when it knocks on my door.

 

Work by Luca Nichetto:

a display of candles, diffusers, candleholders and more displayed on blue plinths

Nichetto for Ginori \\\ Photo courtesy Ginori 1735

five colorful scent diffusers shaped like heads

Nichetto for Ginori \\\ Photo courtesy Ginori 1735

modern eat-in kitchen space

Scavolini

white interior space with three large arches and a dining table with seated woman

Gandia Blasco

book with geometric cover pattern that reads Nichetto Studio projects collaborations and conversations in design

Photo courtesy Phaidon

open book spread featuring a grand piano

Photo courtesy Phaidon

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.