Laura Fiaschi, designer and graphic designer, was the winner of the Woman of Marble Award 2019 (Donna Del Marmo Award), organised by the National Association of Women of Marble (L’Associazione Nazionale Le Donne del Marmo). The prize-giving ceremony was held last Friday during Marmomac International Trade Fair in Verona, Italy. The co-founder of the Studio Gumdesign was awarded for the project “La Casa di Pietra (The Stone House) – Racconti emersi”.
The Woman of Marble (Donna Del Marmo) Award, established in 2007, is a recognition dedicated to those who value and spread the use of marble and natural stone in the national and international field – with their art, professionalism, sensitivity and dedication. This year, at its twelfth edition, focused on the role and importance of synergies as a driving force – capable of generating real opportunities for the creation of shared value. “The HOUSE represents our roots, our memory, the STONE our imagination. THE STONE HOUSE becomes an ancestral space, an eco and container of our world: the hearth. The objects of the STONE HOUSE are traces of memory, summaries of passages of our history”, notes Gumdesign for the project.
Five years ago, on the occasion of Marmomac, the cultural project ‘La Casa di Pietra’ was presented for the first time – an exhibition that arose from the desire to bring back the value of using stone at home – through the creation of objects from everyday design, objects with pure lines and essentials that combine ‘form / function / concept’ and are transformed into emotional stories and vice versa. Among the winners of the Best Communicator Award 2014 in the Design section at Marmomac, ‘La Casa di Pietra’ has since expanded its reach: geographically – traveling the world as a cultural exhibition – growing both in number of collaborations with partner companies and in number of collections.
“The Stone House is realized by the meeting of designers (gumdesign) and artisans – one who works with stone and one expert in other materials, using different materials and technologies, from high craftsmanship to digital”, explains Laura Fiaschi. In 2018 “La Casa di Pietra” from a cultural project becomes a business, expanding, over time, the 10 collections in 67 – with over 250 items in the catalog. The meeting, the value of the relationships that emerges from the path developed in the project ‘La Casa di Pietra’ is the distinguishing feature of the Woman of Marble (Donna Del Marmo) Award 2019 to Laura Fiaschi – a representative recognition of the founding values for the National Association of Women of Marble.
The National Association “Women of Marble”, founded in Verona in 2006, includes women who work in the field of marble and related technologies, who have been working in the sector for at least three years. The role of women in the field is varied and complex, featuring different times of the cycle of production, use and conservation. The innovative aspect of the national association is its privileged point of view that summarizes the different skills of women that work in the natural stone sector : historic quarries owners, architects, designers and artists, but also geologists, journalists, photographers, chief of associations and trade fair managers who promise to make marble an experience made of geography, history, material culture and local culture, tradition but also emotion.
Laura Fiaschi founded the Studio Gumdesign in 1999 with the architect Gabriele Pardi. Together they deal with architecture, industrial design, graphics, art direction for companies and events. They have received numerous national and international prizes and awards. They are active in the university sector at national level with open lessons, workshops and are coordinators and teachers of the Master in Design – Innovation and Product for High Craftsmanship at IED Florence.
Source: ledonnedelmarmo.it, marmomac.com, versiliaproduce.it
