Signature Technique
How it all started
While I was a kid, I used to go to my dad's electronics workshop where I would spend hours playing with the hundred little cables that were coming out of each component, all tangled together. I'd shape them with my hands, trying to construct an object which I'd later gift to someone.
A few years later, a special person, my grandmother, taught me how to knit with threads and that memory has always accompanied me throughout my journey. Those moments spent creating “plekta,” as it is called in Greek, have stayed with me ever since.
The origins of this ancient technique
The roots of this textile technique dates back to 2400 BC. In ancient Greece, needlework and netting traditions were central to women's craft. Greek women created intricate nets called kekryphalos from gold and silk thread to adorn their hair.
Hellenistic goldsmiths wove fine gold wire
into loop-in-loop chains for necklaces, earrings and diadems. The art of interlacing wire by hand, loop through loop, was practiced across the Greek and Byzantine world for centuries.
The golden net
This specific textile craftsmanship became widely known in Europe after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greek refugees brought it to Italy. The tradition they carried became known across the continent as "Greek point" or reticella, meaning "little net" in Italian.
When worked in gold thread, it was called reticella d'oro, "the little golden net." It was one of the earliest forms of needle lace and was produced in the Greek homeland, the Ionian Islands, and throughout Italy. In Florence and Venice, reticella became part of courtly fashion, with women wearing gold reticella to adorn their necklines when fashion called for open gowns.
Watch it come to life
From Greece to florence
Today I revive the Golden Net technique in my studio in Florence, where Greek craftsmanship and a long tradition of fine metalwork once came together. Each piece begins with a single continuous line of wire, and is knitted using crochet hooks. Through a series of experiments and trials I developed this textile technique to construct flexible structures with dense, organic patterns.
metal finish
Once the structure is complete, each piece is plated. A layer of 18-carat gold, platinum, or black rhodium is deposited over the sterling silver base, giving the jewellery its colour and protecting the surface from everyday wear.