Valentina Caprini

Linfa Jewelry Studio

Jewellery maker

©Lucy Plato Clark

©Federico Cavicchioli

Blurring the line with filigree

Valentina makes jewellery with textile-inspired designs
The women tailors of her family influenced her path as a multimedia artisan
She has been teaching Italian filigree worldwide since 2015

Valentina Caprini grew up with fabric and sewing machines, and today explores the use of textile working techniques to create jewellery pieces. She weaves thousands of metres of thread onto water-soluble fabric to give a form to the piece, before dissolving the fabric in water, creating a delicate, lace-like structure. Inspired by her mother and grandmothers who were seamstresses, Valentina's artistic practice mixes traditional techniques, such as Italian filigree, with contemporary tools such as 3D printing. She started teaching her signature Italian contemporary filigree course in 2015, in which she shares an experimental vision that fuses textile design and metalwork.

Interview

©Lucy Plato Clark

©Nathalie Frankenne

What inspired you to bring tailoring into jewellery making?: I grew up surrounded by sewing machines and the language of textiles has always whispered to my soul. My creativity blooms when I balance textile and jewellery, crafting wearable art that exists at the crossroads between the two worlds.
How important is experimentation in your practice?: Experimentation drives my work, I love playing with the unknown and embracing uncertainty. Exploring new possibilities, such as using advanced technology, offers expressive freedom that beautifully complements the precision of handcraft.
What does making jewellery mean to you?: Textile work has long been one of the most prominent forms of artistic expression for women – a creative outlet that was allowed when many other rights were denied. I embrace it and I aim to honour it through new influences and experiments, which is a freedom that mirrors the one I experience as a woman today.
What is your view on the future of jewellery making?: Crafting jewellery is one of humanity’s oldest forms of creativity. It will likely live on, because metal, which is the elemental foundation of jewellery, holds an incredible power of transformation. It offers endless possibilities for creation and reinvention.

Valentina Caprini is a master artisan: she began her career in 2013 and she started teaching in 2014