Giulia and Nicole are two young Italian jewelry designers who founded the upcycled jewelry brand DI GOMMA - that literally means 'made of rubber', referring to the wheels of the bicycle as primary source for their collections. 

At 18 they moved to London together and they had the chance to explore the underground movement of the city. Their upcycling project - DI GOMMA - was inspired and influenced by the subterranean alternative scene in London and its multiculturalism that shows in the arts and music and in every single body personal different style. 

​

​

​

Tell me something about you, how did you become a sustainable designer?

 

It all started from the reuse of abandoned spaces with an artistic purpose, we would transform them in common spaces where young artists could share and exchange their passions, arts and skills organizing free workshops, shows and music events. The creative part of the job comes just after hard work: in abandoned building there is a lot of cleaning and organizing to do before it becomes a nice environment, that was when we realized how much trash could be reused in a creative way. 

In London the amount of waste is unbelievable, items that could be easily reused or reinvented by artists for new purposes. This is how we started making jewelry out of bolts, metal bits, electric cables and tires.

​

​

Why do you think up cycling is important? 

 

Upcycling is one of the best way to stop the overproduction of goods and promote handmade. It is also a great way to get creative, we have a lot of fun experiment with alternative materials: it's interesting to see how every element that we use in the process get reinvented in always different ways and is shaped by the different personalities of the artists behind it. Upcycling means creating art not trash.