Roberta Pederzoli from Quinta Essenza designs textured and tactile jewellery, recreating a sensation of fairy-tale elegance and enchantment by delicately brushing colours over her works: black, white and gold. Her jewellery is inspired by natural and organic shapes, in particular by lichens, wood and interesting forms she observes during her walks. We caught up with Roberta to find out more about her bags and inspirations.

If  you  weren’t  a  designer-maker,  what  would  you  be  right  now?
I would like to be what I am a designer-maker. This is my second career and I love what I am doing.

When  did  you  realise  you  wanted  to  be  a  designer?
It was few years ago, when I was playing with my daughter in a park in Italy, making necklaces by joining daisies together, as I used to do as a child. I suddenly realised I wanted to learn how to make jewellery.

Describe  your  work  in  three  words.
Simplicity, attention to detail and enchantment. I asked a dear friend to describe my jewellery, as it is difficult to be emotionally detached from your own work and she said: elegant, regal and original.

Are  there  any  other  designers  whose  work  you  admire,  and  why?
Goldsmith Giovanni Corvaja who is able to create extremely elegant and sophisticated jewellery by using gold threads. Each piece is a statement, you just need one of his jewellery and a simple black dress to look like a queen.

What  do  you  do  in  your  free  time?
I love walking and listen to music.

What’s  one  thing  you  like  to  do  everyday  without  fail?
Making jewellery. When I am working with metals, things do not go always the way I am expecting, after an initial frustration my mind starts wondering and initiates a problem solving process. This opens the door to more creativity and original work. Overcoming the fear of failure is paramount in creative process.

What  brings  you  the  greatest  satisfaction?
Two things without a specific order: working on new jewellery pieces when listen to classical music and chatting with my children at breakfast when we are not in a rush.

What’s  the  best  advice  you  have  been  given?
Follow your dreams.

What’s  the  best  gift  you  have  ever  received?
A gold bracelet with ruby given to me by my mother. She received it as a present from my father but she remembered when I was a child I used to love it.

What  is  your  favourite  quote?
Carpe diem.

What  is  in  your  bucket  list?
I love travelling. There are still several places I would like to visit.

What  is  the  best  piece  you  have  bought  and  from  whom?
A brooch in an antique shop.