# Gianfranco Chicco
> Gianfranco Chicco is a London-based creative producer, content strategist and writer connecting design, technology and craft. He is the author of The Craftsman Newsletter.
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## Pages
- [About](https://www.gchicco.com/about.md) - Gianfranco Chicco is a London-based creative producer, strategist and writer connecting design, technology and craft. He creates physical and digital experiences that bring people together. Gian is the former Head of Content and Digital of the London Design Festival and London Design Biennale (2021…
- [Contact](https://www.gchicco.com/contact.md) - The best way to contact me is by email: gian@gchicco.com My literary agent is Robert Caskie. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky and on my YouTube channel.
- [Tags](https://www.gchicco.com/tags.md)
- [The Craftsman Newsletter](https://www.gchicco.com/the-craftsman-newsletter.md) - A newsletter about craft, focusing on Japan. Stories of skilled makers, research into their methods, and hands-on practice. Exploring what craft can teach us to live and work better.

## Posts
- [The Colour of a Hundred Years](https://www.gchicco.com/the-colour-of-a-hundred-years.md) - Time can be treated as a river, as something eternal, or as a scarce resource. Today I want to focus on time as a material, an ingredient you can create with, and share the story of the tea caddy I could not talk myself out of. A chef ages a piece of meat or fish to tenderise it and concentrate its…
- [A Date at the Foundry](https://www.gchicco.com/a-date-at-the-foundry.md) - I recently found my notes from an autumn 2023 visit to the Nousaku factory in Takaoka, on Japan's west coast, about two hours from Tokyo by shinkansen. Seeing their products in London shops brought the trip back. The Nousaku brand was coined in 2002 but the company had been making metal-cast produc…
- [The Source Code: Precision - Pullman xChange Paris x House of Beautiful Business](https://www.gchicco.com/the-source-code-precision-pullman-xchange-paris-x-house-of-beautiful-business.md) - On 24–25 June 2026, Pullman Hotels & Resorts and the House of Beautiful Business turned two Pullman properties in Paris, Montparnasse and Centre-Bercy, into a 24-hour gathering for 150 guests, by invitation only. The theme was The Source Code: the qualities that sit beneath everything we make and v…
- [Finally, 3daysofdesign Copenhagen](https://www.gchicco.com/finally-3daysofdesign-copenhagen.md) - Finally made it to 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen. The right size, the right mix of people and brands, good conversations, lunches and dinners, and an optimistic and playful tone throughout, all in one of my favourite cities. Not exhibiting this time, which let me flow with serendipity and get lost fr…
- [The Opposite of Sameness - Lecture at Domus Academy](https://www.gchicco.com/the-opposite-of-sameness-lecture-at-domus-academy.md) - On the limits of convenience and how having a craft sensibility changes how you design, lead and build. On 5 June 2026, I gave an online lecture for master's students at Domus Academy, Milan, across disciplines including fashion, design, and business. What follows is a summary of the main argument…
- [When Apricots Blossom - Milan Design Week 2026](https://www.gchicco.com/when-apricots-blossom-milan-design-week-2026.md) - Working with The Crosses, led by Adnan Abbasi, I was a creative producer and digital strategist for When Apricots Blossom, Uzbekistan's first national exhibition at Milan Design Week 2026 (20–26 April, Palazzo Citterio). Commissioned by Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture…
- [Carving a Cha He from Soot Bamboo](https://www.gchicco.com/carving-a-cha-he-from-soot-bamboo.md) - For some time I've been wanting a small cha he (茶荷), a vessel used to measure and present dry tea leaves before brewing. It's especially useful for transferring tea into a small teapot or gaiwan. Instead of buying one, I made it from Japanese susudake (煤竹), soot bamboo. I had a few lengths left ove…
- [Happy as an Otter with a Fancy Pebble](https://www.gchicco.com/happy-as-an-otter-with-a-fancy-pebble.md) - A few years ago I wrote about how I identified more as a “user” of craft, ceramics above all, rather than a collector. My reticence to use the c-word was possibly rooted in a feeling that collectors are just hoarders or people with abundant disposable income. The truth is that I am a collector and…
- [WAJOY at Collect Art Fair 2026](https://www.gchicco.com/wajoy-at-collect-art-fair-2026.md) - WAJOY (website, instagram) is a new cultural platform founded and directed by Mayumi Tachikawa to connect Japanese craft traditions with international contemporary art audiences. Rather than framing craft as heritage, WAJOY positions it as a living practice addressing present-day concerns around ma…
- [What Wood Wants: Correspondence With Shuji Nakagawa](https://www.gchicco.com/what-wood-wants-correspondence-with-shuji-nakagawa.md) - A week before my experience Kaida sensei, I found myself in another workshop in Shiga prefecture, this time starting not with carefully selected bamboo but with a mallet, a wedge and a massive tree trunk. I was visiting Shuji Nakagawa's studio - an accomplished artisan known for his wooden buckets…
- [Mountain Eel: Making Chashaku with Kaida Sensei](https://www.gchicco.com/mountain-eel-making-chashaku-with-kaida-sensei.md) - When I confirmed my return to Kyoto, I took it as an opportunity to progress in my chashaku-making. My friend Toshiyuki Matsubayashi from the Asahiyaki kiln recommended we visit Mai Miyake's studio in the mountains of Shiga to study under Kaida sensei. When someone from a 400-year pottery lineage s…
- [The Structure of Sui: Exporting Japan's Quiet Luxury](https://www.gchicco.com/the-structure-of-sui-exporting-japans-quiet-luxury.md) - In November I made an unexpected return to Japan* after a 2-year hiatus to attend the presentation of the JAPAN SUI COLLECTION at the Kyōto Geihinkan (Kyoto State Guest House) within the Imperial Park. While the country is enjoying unprecedented global interest, from record tourism to the 'matcha e…
- [Salt and Pepper at Kennin-ji](https://www.gchicco.com/salt-and-pepper-at-kennin-ji.md) - If you asked me barely a month ago, I would have told you that I was feeling down because I hadn’t been able to return to Japan in two years. And then, thanks to a tip by Erik during a press tour in Dubai I was involved with, I got an invitation to attend the launch of the SUI Collection at the Kyō…
- [Winter Special 2025: Books and Ceramics](https://www.gchicco.com/winter-special-2025-books-and-ceramics.md) - There are two things I’m partial to and will often indulge in without too much thinking: books and ceramics. From my point of view, you can never have too much of any of them :) I'm returning momentarily to the origin of this newsletter in 2017, when it was about recommending craft-related objects…
- [Bamboo, Blades and YouTube](https://www.gchicco.com/bamboo-blades-and-youtube.md) - During the summer of 2025 I gave myself the task to learn to carve chashaku as part of my embodied research of Japanese crafts. If that sounds too esoteric, let me clarify. Chashaku (茶杓) are the small bamboo tea scoops used in the Japanese tea ceremony to transfer matcha from tea caddy to bowl. Ori…
- [Sketches of Japanese Craftsmanship in London, September 2025](https://www.gchicco.com/sketches-of-japanese-craftsmanship-in-london-september-2025.md) - Sketches are my half-baked ideas, projects and notes for articles. I scribble them on napkins, random notebook pages or in my phone’s notes app. Today's missive is from several activities I took part in during London Design Festival in September 2025. The common denominator was Japanese craftsmansh…
- [Aliveness (what machines can't make)](https://www.gchicco.com/aliveness-what-machines-cant-make.md) - Have you ever held an object and felt the maker's presence in your hands? In art they call it 'aura'. It's what distinguishes an original painting from its reproduction, what you hear in Miles Davis or Nina Simone’s live jazz performances, what you taste in the dishes that ignite happy childhood me…
- [Summer Special 2025](https://www.gchicco.com/summer-special-2025.md) - Last year’s summer special proved to be pretty popular so here I am at it again with highlights of what to read, listen, watch and visit in the next few months, all of them relating to craft and design in one way or another. But I’m also curious about what are your must see/read/attend for this sea…
- [Off the Hump: Poetry of Clay with Tarragon Smith](https://www.gchicco.com/off-the-hump-poetry-of-clay-with-tarragon-smith.md) - This webinar is part of The Summer Sessions: Craft & Design, a series of online conversations with craftspeople, designers, academics and storytellers. The previous one was on miracle fibres from Patagonia with Cindy Lilen. Tarragon Smith is a thoughtful person. Before I met him, his tea bowls 'spo…
- [Miracle Fibres: From Patagonia to London with Cindy Lilen](https://www.gchicco.com/miracle-fibres-from-patagonia-to-london-with-cindy-lilen.md) - What happens when ancient Andean wisdom meets contemporary design on one of London's most prestigious stages? The answer lies in a darkened room at Somerset House where visitors sit on felted benches, touching raw vicuña wool while listening to ancestral sounds. Textile artist Cindy Lilen co-create…
- [Portrait from the Family Album, 1878ca](https://www.gchicco.com/portrait-from-the-family-album-1878ca.md) - This is an old photo from the family album. The boy in uniform was probably my grandfather (Ernesto Chicco), and the man next to him my great-grandfather. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure. The last person who likely knew was my late father. The photo, an albumen print, was taken in the late 180…
- [The playful guinomi](https://www.gchicco.com/the-playful-guinomi.md) - This is the second essay in a three-part series that started with The humble yunomi. In Japanese drinking culture, the container often matters as much as what fills it. May is my birthday month so in the spirit of celebrating life, I thought it would be appropriate to write about guinomi, the littl…
- [Crafting Memory: Alessi's Funeral Urns](https://www.gchicco.com/crafting-memory-alessi-funeral-urns.md) - I returned from Milan's Design Week with my head buzzing from good conversations, pretty sights and delicious food. As in previous years, what touched me were not the slick booths in the gargantuan pavilions nor the glitzy brand-extending exercises of luxury houses (although I did like Loewe’s teap…
- [Ink, Stone, Brush, Paper and Tea](https://www.gchicco.com/ink-stone-brush-paper-and-tea.md) - This weekend I returned to calligraphy after months away. Grinding ink on stone offers a welcome relief from screens. In contrast to the numbness of touching glass on a smartphone, you feel the scent of the ink forming, the sound and feeling of friction rubbing on the inkstone, applying soft and ha…
- [The Butterfly Effect: Sori Yanagi and the Art of Appreciation](https://www.gchicco.com/the-butterfly-effect-sori-yanagi-and-the-art-of-appreciation.md) - The saying goes that you shouldn't meet your heroes, but what about celebrating them? In November last year, a diverse group of people working in the UK's design industry gathered at the Vitra showroom in London to launch the Sori Yanagi Appreciation Society (SYAS). Industrial designers worldwide a…
- [Born Elsewhere, Made in Japan](https://www.gchicco.com/born-elsewhere-made-in-japan.md) - Most Japanese crafts knowledge could disappear within a generation. The country is growing old and depopulating at incredible speed, and as lifestyle has become more westernised throughout the last hundred years, fewer people are interested in becoming a shokunin, a craftsman. According to JapanCra…
- [Feeling More x Musubi Academy](https://www.gchicco.com/feeling-more-x-musubi-academy.md) - Musubi Academy, a platform dedicated to exploring Japanese wisdom and its relevance to contemporary life, is the brainchild of Laurens van Aarle. We bonded through our shared appreciation of Japanese culture, and when the website launched in April 2024, he asked me if I would like to contribute an…
- [Kamon, the Original Logos of Japan](https://www.gchicco.com/kamon-the-original-logos-of-japan.md) - Traditions are living entities. The Hatoba family enriches and evolves the role of the Monsho Uwaeshi, the artisans of Japanese family crests, ensuring that the thousand-year-old craft of mon making remains relevant in the 21st century. I come from an Italian family on my father’s side with a noble…
- [Craftsmanship and Circularity Are One](https://www.gchicco.com/craftsmanship-and-circularity-are-one.md) - When I’m asked about my interest in craftsmanship, especially that of Japan, I explain that at its core is the fact that circular principles are inherently baked in. Modern designers rightly focus on using sustainable materials, reducing waste, ensuring repairability, and promoting recycling. Japan…
- [Fabrico, ergo intellego](https://www.gchicco.com/fabrico-ergo-intellego.md) - Enzo Mari was passionately opposed to consumerism and criticised mediocre objects not made to last. He believed that to truly appreciate the value of an item—like a chair or sofa—consumers needed to learn how to make it with their own hands, gaining a deeper understanding of what goes into creating…
- [Prefecture Makes Perfect](https://www.gchicco.com/prefecture-makes-perfect.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2024. Designers, technologists and artisans breathe new life into Japanese craft at the V&A How can centuries-old Japanese craft techniques be preserved for another hundred years? For Hideki Yoshimoto a…
- [People Power](https://www.gchicco.com/people-power.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' and website in 2024. POoR Collective channels the youth of Wandsworth in a multifaceted show at an industrial icon "The ambition of all of our projects is to challenge what design is, what design can be, what the designer is…
- [Newsletter Summer Special 2024](https://www.gchicco.com/newsletter-summer-special-2024.md) - When I started The Craftsman Newsletter in 2017 it was about recommending craft-related objects and people I encountered through my frequent travels. In time it evolved into original long-form stories that went behind the scenes. When lockdowns hit in 2020 and my plans to go to Japan to do research…
- [The genius of Raku Jikinyū](https://www.gchicco.com/the-genius-of-raku-jikinyu.md) - “He’s clearly a genius” one of the collectors in attendance at the exhibition told me a few weeks ago. However, the work of Raku Jikinyū was not always seen that way. Jikinyū rejects labels like ‘artist’, ‘artisan’ or ‘potter’ and would rather be called a chawanya, a maker of chawan (tea bowls). Un…
- [Art without heroes: Mingei with Róisín Inglesby](https://www.gchicco.com/art-without-heroes-mingei-with-roisin-inglesby.md) - On Friday 14 June 2024 I hosted an online session to dive into Japanese folk-craft culture. The William Morris Gallery in London is hosting the brilliant exhibition: ‘Art Without Heroes: Mingei’ (running until 22 September 2024), so I invited the curator, Róisín Inglesby, to discuss five of her fav…
- [A Tale Of Two Orin - Part 1](https://www.gchicco.com/a-tale-of-two-orin-part-1.md) - It's November 2023 and I’m in Takaoka, Toyama prefecture. There’s a sleepy atmosphere despite it being a Monday. The city is famous across Japan for its copperware and decorative lacquerware. It’s raining and I’m here to visit the workshop of Shimatani Yoshinori, a 4th-generation ‘orin’ craftsman o…
- [Talking by making: pottery in the heart of Uji](https://www.gchicco.com/talking-by-making-pottery-in-the-heart-of-uji.md) - Ceramics and tea culture are both close to my heart so when Hosai Matsubayashi XVI invited me to practise pottery at Asahiyaki it felt like a dream come true.
- [Talking by making: soba noodles in Tokyo](https://www.gchicco.com/talking-by-making-soba-noodles-in-tokyo.md) - Akila Inouye runs the Tsukiji Soba Academy in Tokyo. A fan of molecular cuisine, his teaching method relies on getting to know the history of soba, grasping the underlying chemistry of its preparation and of course cooking and eating them in different ways.
- [London Design Festival](https://www.gchicco.com/london-design-festival.md) - I was the Head of Content & Digital of London Design Festival (LDF), overseeing the 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions. Founded in 2003, London Design Festival celebrates and promotes the city as a design capital on the global stage and is one of the world's leading design events. In 2022 the festival at…
- [Moving at human speed](https://www.gchicco.com/moving-at-human-speed.md) - You can tell that September was the busiest time at work when all I could manage to write about was putting tomatoes on handmade ceramic plates and sharing daily Instagram Stories about preparing matcha (抹茶, Japanese powdered green tea) in a proper teabowl using a bamboo whisk. Truth is, these thin…
- [London Design Biennale](https://www.gchicco.com/london-design-biennale.md) - I served as Head of Content & Digital for London Design Biennale (LDB) during the 2021 and 2023 editions. Established in 2016, London Design Biennale is a three-week international exhibition and thought leadership programme located at historic Somerset House, in the heart of London. It showcases gl…
- [Tomatoes on Japanese Ceramic Plates Taste Better](https://www.gchicco.com/tomatoes-on-japanese-ceramic-plates-taste-better.md) - Do tomatoes taste better when eaten from a nice Japanese ceramic plate? Objectively, no. But the experience of serving and eating the tomatoes does improve. That is because human experience is not limited just to the physical characteristics of the food but how we interact with it, from the sensori…
- [How to Bring the Fun Back to Technology](https://www.gchicco.com/how-to-bring-the-fun-back-to-technology.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2023. For the last decade, the smartphone industry has been launching new models following the same formula. So how can you bring something fresh to this saturated and highly competitive market? That's…
- [From artificial to artisanal intelligence](https://www.gchicco.com/from-artificial-to-artisanal-intelligence.md) - Unless you’ve been living under a rock, anything Artificial Intelligence (AI) related is top of the newscycle. Even my local florist will go to great lengths to share his thoughts on how AI is going to either make us miserable or be the end of the human race. However, beyond all the hype and doomsd…
- [Turning a banal conference badge into a collectible item](https://www.gchicco.com/foi-conference-badge.md) - Throwback to 2010 when I was leading marketing and communications at the PICNIC Festival in Amsterdam during the day, and the Conference Director of Frontiers of Interaction in Rome at night. The first decade of the 2000s had been a fervent period for innovative media-tech-creativity conferences to…
- [Slow prosperity: empathy and (small) business](https://www.gchicco.com/slow-prosperity-empathy-and-business.md) - On April 14th 2023 I hosted an online session called “Slow prosperity: Empathy and Business” with 6th generation Japanese master craftsman Takahiro Yagi of Kaikado. Kaikado has been making tea caddies - 茶筒, chazutsu - since 1875. The wide-ranging conversation followed some of the topics covered in…
- [The connection between maker and owner](https://www.gchicco.com/the-connection-between-maker-and-owner.md) - "So somewhere along the line, I’ve switched from being a consumer to an owner. Or maybe even a custodian, if I look after them well enough to pass them on to my children: not inconceivable the way they’re going."
- [The Humble Yunomi](https://www.gchicco.com/the-humble-yunomi.md) - The yunomi is the workhorse of Japanese teaware. It’s the cup where you’ll be offered tea at a shop, a restaurant, an office or when visiting someone’s home. You’ll find it in daily use by people of all classes and backgrounds.
- [The Ukrainian Tryzub](https://www.gchicco.com/the-ukrainian-tryzub.md) - Ivan Hryhorchuk of Viter Ceramics is a young Ukrainian potter whose work is inspired by Japanese ceramics and tea culture. As a fellow Japanophile, I found his teaware very relatable and bought some of it in 2019. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, Ivan’s life and that of most Ukrania…
- [Tea Ensō](https://www.gchicco.com/tea-enso.md) - This morning I did a sloppy job at transferring new matcha tea from its original container onto a tea caddy using a sift that was wider than the opening of the caddy.
- [Traditions: from copying to rebellion to transcendence](https://www.gchicco.com/traditions-from-copying-to-rebellion-to-transcendence.md) - When we think about traditional craft objects, the first image that comes to mind is that of old things, vintage looks, nostalgia and remote origin stories. However, traditions are living entities. They have to be born before they get a chance to establish themselves, they grow and evolve, and some…
- [WIP: new website](https://www.gchicco.com/wip-new-website.md) - I moved my website gchicco.com (this one!) to a new platform (Ghost) and I’m in the process of transferring content from the old version. It contained articles, work news and photos spanning over 15 years… tempus fugit! Reviewing all that content is proving to be quite cathartic and will take time.…
- [Step Into Sony Design’s New Virtual Reality](https://www.gchicco.com/step-into-sony-designs-new-virtual-reality.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2022. “Our role is not to create eccentric, one-off concepts just for the sake of it but, through the power of design, to envision new paradigms, give meaning to ideas and develop new standards” Sony ha…
- [Meet the Woodworkers of Hida Takayama](https://www.gchicco.com/meet-the-woodworkers-of-hida-takayama.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2022. A great way to learn about other civilisations is through their material culture, and since its inception, Japan House London has been hosting exhibitions on exactly that. Its latest exhibition, '…
- [I fell down a moon jar rabbit hole](https://www.gchicco.com/moon-jar-rabbit-hole.md) - Moon jars are a classic Korean form usually made of milky white porcelain resembling a full moon floating over a rice field.
- [Third-wave coffee oasis in Milan](https://www.gchicco.com/third-wave-coffee-oasis-in-milan.md) - Onest Milano, a cafe-osasis in Italy, oscillates between serving specialty coffee during the day and wine in the evenings, both accompanied by delicate good food. They pride themselves in putting sustainability and traceability at the top of their offering.
- [Are You a Collector or a Maker?](https://www.gchicco.com/are-you-a-collector-or-a-maker.md) - I'm what you guys call a User. - Kevin Flynn, Tron (1982) 'Are you a collector or a maker?' a chatty chap asked me during a ceramics exhibition a few months ago. He then went on to tell me how proud he was of his Japanese collection. 'I’m a user' I uttered without too much thought, and my answer ha…
- [With my own two hands](https://www.gchicco.com/with-my-own-two-hands.md) - Workweeks have been pretty intense so I spent the weekend recharging. I finally picked up the pots and cups I made over the last couple of months at Tokobo Pottery. They are raw and unrefined, even ugly. But you know what? Tea and coffee taste better in them just because of the pleasure I took in s…
- [Discover The World Of Mixed Reality](https://www.gchicco.com/discover-the-world-of-mixed-reality.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2021. Last year, Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto’s work was seen in non-physical form for the first time. This was thanks to production studio and technology developer Tin Drum who created from ‘Medusa,…
- [The Influence Of The Wood Is Everything](https://www.gchicco.com/the-influence-of-the-wood-is-everything.md) - Sven Mihai lives somewhere in the mountains of Central Europe (he asked me to keep the location vague), where he goes on long hikes to collect wood to create unique teawares that have a cult-like following. Getting hold of one of his products is not as easy as your average online shopping. He does…
- [How Design Changed the Olympics Forever](https://www.gchicco.com/how-design-changed-the-olympics-forever.md) - This article was first published in the London Design Festival 'Red Book' (print) and website in 2021. The Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympic Games marked several world firsts. It was the first Olympics to be hosted in Asia, the first to feature an Olympic Torch Relay across the whole host country and the f…
- [Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend](https://www.gchicco.com/kintsugi-the-poetic-mend.md) - Kintsugi (金継ぎ, 金: gold and 継ぎ: joint, joining) has taken the West by storm over the last decade. The hype has been fuelled by the visual dominance of platforms like Instagram and pop-psychology. Google it and you'll find innumerable photos, DIY kits, famous - if slightly taken out of context - quot…
- [Bringing Sanrio Puroland to Life with Adobe Illustrator on the iPad](https://www.gchicco.com/bringing-sanrio-puroland-to-life-with-adobe-illustrator-on-the-ipad.md) - This article was first published on the Adobe Blog in 2020. Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty are perhaps the most iconic global champions of kawaii culture. Kawaii (pronounced “kah-wah-eeeh”) is difficult to explain, but you know it when you see it. Although it’s often translated as “cuteness,…
- [The Social Life of Objects](https://www.gchicco.com/the-social-life-of-objects.md) - Republished and updated from The Craftsman Newsletter from October 2020 As my Summer went by without much of an actual summer-vibe, I found myself — like many others — spending more time at home. It was akin to being in a spaceship like in 2001: A Space Odyssey (without the evil computer), although…
- [A box of wonders](https://www.gchicco.com/a-box-of-wonders.md) - I have a box full of postcards that I’ve collected over the years. The oldest are from 1992, from a Pink Floyd special edition boxset I loved. Many are from when I moved to Europe in the early 2000s. I’ve picked them up during work trips, holidays, and in places where I’ve lived, from Amsterdam to…
- [A happy birthday in lockdown](https://www.gchicco.com/a-happy-birthday-in-lockdown.md) - For my birthdays, I like to bring together friends from different walks of (my) life to break bread (and drink wine!). This year eating together was not an option, as I found myself in lockdown like many, many others. I had been self-isolating for the previous two months without having any meaningf…
- [Virtual events need to break the fourth wall](https://www.gchicco.com/virtual-events-need-to-break-the-fourth-wall.md) - When COVID-19 pulled the rug from under event organisers’ feet, forcing them to postpone or cancel, they scrambled to find new experiences that would fill up the void. Naturally, the quickest way to replace them was through live-streaming sessions on Zoom, Instagram Live, YouTube, etc. Virtual even…
- [OEO Studio: Breathing New Life Into Craftsmanship](https://www.gchicco.com/oeo-studio-breathing-new-life-into-craftsmanship.md) - Thomas Lykke's grandfather was a carpenter. He transmitted to his grandson a passion for wood, the knowledge of how to use the tools, a genuine care for quality and, of course, the aesthetics of a well made object. Many years later, after training as a fashion designer in San Francisco and working…
- [Teachings from Japanese Craftsmanship: What Is Enough?](https://www.gchicco.com/teaching-from-japanese-craftsmanship-what-is-enough.md) - This essay has been adapted from a short talk I gave at the Grande Finale of the House of Beautiful Business in Lisbon on November 6th, 2019 (watch the video). In March of this year I quit my job. I was feeling exhausted physically and mentally, and there was something else. For years I have been t…
- [Tanimura Tango and Japan's Vanishing Chasen Craft](https://www.gchicco.com/tanimura-tango-and-japans-vanishing-chasen-craft.md) - In Takayama, Nara prefecture, Tanimura Jun, professionally known as Tanimura Tango, continues a legacy that few others have maintained. As the 20th generation chasen master craftsman, he creates bamboo whisks essential for preparing matcha tea. Growing up, he showed no interest in the family tradit…
- [Endings Summit at Techfestival 2019](https://www.gchicco.com/endings-summit-at-techfestival-2019.md) - In September 2019, I co-curated the Endings Summit at Techfestival in Copenhagen, an event focused on designing better endings for products, services, relationships, and life. I was also the producer and host of the Studio Stage and official Techfestival podcast. The third edition of Techfestival t…
- [Ritual: Printing One Photo A Day](https://www.gchicco.com/ritual-printing-one-photo-a-day.md) - A few years ago I came to the conclusion that a printed photograph is worth hundreds, if not thousands of digital photos stored on your phone or hard drive. I started digital photography in 2002 with a Nikon Coolpix 2500, followed by a Nikon D70 DSLR in 2004, and then an iPhone 3GS in 2009. My outp…
- [The Serendipity Engine](https://www.gchicco.com/the-serendipity-engine.md) - Earlier this year I left my job. I felt a strong urge to recharge physically and, more important, mentally. The role had created a series of positive connections and had me embark on an intense public speaking spree, but I was exhausted and creatively stuck. On top of that I wanted to stop doing ce…
- [The Webby Awards & The Lovie Awards](https://www.gchicco.com/the-webby-awards-the-lovie-awards.md) - From 2016 to early 2019, I served as the European Marketing Director of the Webby Awards and the Lovie Awards. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honouring excellence on the Internet. The New York Times called the Webbys the "Oscars of the Internet". The Lovie Awards recognises the…
- [My LEGO Wall - From Work Tool to Art Installation](https://www.gchicco.com/my-lego-wall.md) - If you've visited my home in the last 5+ years or had a video call with me, you've noticed my LEGO Wall. It's a conversation starter for adults and a magnet for kids. What you might not know is how it got started. Yes, I'm a long time AFOL (Adult Fans of LEGO) and was lucky to have many sets as a c…
- [Velocitize interview on storytelling, great digital work, and personal vs. personalised experiences](https://www.gchicco.com/velocitize-interview-on-storytelling-great-digital-work-and-personal-vs-personalised-experiences.md) - Back in November 2018 I sat down with Andy North from Velocitize, a publication by WP Engine that shares strategic insights on digital experiences to marketers and agency folk, to discuss marketing trends and how brands can approach the constant evolution of how we converse and tell stories online.…
- [The Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival](https://www.gchicco.com/the-tsubame-sanjo-factory-festival.md) - When our attention is being sucked away by digital gadgets, how can you help people understand the value of well made products and create a closer connection to their makers? For the Japanese manufacturing district of Tsubame-Sanjo, the answer was rooted in the simplicity of direct human experience…
- [Taking a break: Breathing and Zen](https://www.gchicco.com/taking-a-break-breathing-and-zen.md) - I often need to create space and change things up a bit to counterbalance the "busy-ness" of work, submerged in emails, chats, and the stress that comes with the daily sense of urgency. Luckily, it's not all screen time and I get to do a decent amount of public speaking, which means I get to meet p…
- [Social Media Week London](https://www.gchicco.com/social-media-week-london.md) - I served as Executive Director of Social Media Week London from 2013-2016, leading the 2014 and 2015 editions. (I was also the Conference Director of Social Media Week Milan for the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 editions.) Social Media Week operated as a prominent media platform and worldwide event wi…
- [Social Media Week Milan](https://www.gchicco.com/social-media-week-milan.md) - I served as Conference Director of Social Media Week Milan for the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 editions, leading a team from digital agencies Hagakure and later Doing. Social Media Week (now part of Adage) was a prominent media platform and worldwide event with local presence across five continents:…
- [Taking It Slowly: Why I Love to Send (Paper) Postcards](https://www.gchicco.com/taking-it-slowly-why-i-love-to-send-paper-postcards.md) - During a recent lunch with a good friend who works as a digital strategist, I casually mentioned that I like to send postcards, to which she commented quite baffled “you still send postcards?”. My natural reply was “dozens, probably hundreds, of them each year”.
- [Why Conferences Should Have an Expiration Date](https://www.gchicco.com/why-conferences-should-have-an-expiration-date.md) - I’ve been involved in designing, marketing and managing events — mostly conferences in the management, technology, design and creative sectors — for more than ten years now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that conferences need to have an expiration date, like food. A sort of “best before dd/mm/yyy…
- [TEDxSilkRoad](https://www.gchicco.com/tedxsilkroad.md) - TEDxSilkRoad was a one-day conference in Istanbul, Turkey, bringing together East and West to discuss global commerce, social innovation, future trends and storytelling. With 18 international speakers and 120 participants, it took place on 11 April 2012 at the Feriye auditorium, a historic 19th cen…
- [Red Innova](https://www.gchicco.com/red-innova.md) - I served as Chief Operating Officer of Red Innova in Madrid, Spain for the 2011 edition, held on 15-16 June. Red Innova was the community on innovation, internet and entrepreneurship connecting Latin America with the world, bringing together influential entrepreneurs, developers, mentors, investors…
- [Frontiers of Interaction](https://www.gchicco.com/frontiers-of-interaction.md) - I served as Conference Director of Frontiers of Interaction in 2010, joining cofounders Leandro Agro' and Matteo Penzo to lead business strategy, transforming the event from a non-profit academic initiative into a for-profit company. Founded in 2005 to explore Interaction Design, Frontiers of Inter…
- [PICNIC Festival](https://www.gchicco.com/picnic-festival.md) - I served as head of strategy, marketing, digital (new website development), print (catalogues), ticketing and partnerships for the 2009 and 2010 editions of the PICNIC Festival in Amsterdam. The international PICNIC Festival was a pioneering platform for innovation and creativity in technology, med…
- [World Business Forum](https://www.gchicco.com/world-business-forum.md) - I served as Marketing Director & Business Manager of the Italian branch of HSM Group (now WOBI) based in Milan between 2003 and 2008. As the first employee in Italy, I managed the local office, coordinating activities with other countries. My responsibilities ranged from company startup operations—…

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