October 12, 2019

Milan-Based Maddalena Selvini Shows Off Her Artistry With Pietra Ollare and Ceramic Products

Probably not many thirtysomethings long for a time before central heating, but Milan-based Maddalena Selvini thinks we’ve lost something in the process of modernization. Once, we gathered around a stove for warmth and kinship; now, we waste money and energy by cranking the room heat to over 70 degrees. “Worst of all,” she says, “we then forget it’s actually cold outside, and end up being completely detached from our surroundings and ourselves.”

Maddalena Selvinilea holds an aroma diffuser. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.

Selvini, whose eclectic background encompasses jewelry, metalsmithing, and product design, graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven’s department of Man and Well-being. The core of her modular S.Pot system is a large stone cooking vessel for warming food (and hands). From the stone waste used to manufacture the pot, she creates a line of ceramics. The stone itself, called Pietra Ollare, comes from Valtellina in the Italian Alps. Its heat-retaining properties aren’t limited to the kitchen: She also makes a bed warmer from the stuff. 

A technician making a tea filter, which works by falling inside the cup and pressing down the leaves. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Maddalena Selvini’s artistry in Pietra Ollare and ceramic. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Selvini in the studio. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Her large stone cooking pot, in two sizes with optional lid, can be used like an old-fashioned stove. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Ceramic finish samples. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Ceramic vessels made from manufacturing waste. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
A closeup of the aggregate-like material. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.
Her hot stone bed warmer. Photography by Anouchinsky/Living Inside.

> See more from the Fall 2019 issue of Interior Design Homes

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