Lovely Label & Designer Interview: Baccurelli – A Colourful Life in Plastic

Where does your love for plastic has its roots, Meli?

I’ve always loved plastic. My Mom had the most amazing plastic jewelry collection in a wooden drawer that was high up in her closet. I remember standing on my tippy toes and slowly opening it up to grab every piece I could reach. I felt so glamorous when I got older and she lend me some pieces to wear with my own clothes. My parents were very groovy in the 60s and 70s so our home had a lot of sculptures, lamps and decor made of plastic. I remember one epically enormous sculpture in the middle of our living room that looked like a bowl of spaghetti suspended in the air. It was incredible and it engrained in me a fine arts application of plastic, beyond the ordinary industrial usage we are so accustomed to. So growing up, plastic was all around me. Also, I think anyone that experienced the 80s, fell in love with plastic too. There was such a plastic creative explosion in fashion in the 80s. I’ve always loved its texture, bright colors, malleability and fragility too. The fact that its super strong yet vulnerable is so appealing to me for some reason.

What kind of a woman is wearing your jewellery?

The Baccurelli woman is a strong woman that has survived many hard knocks that life has thrown her way, and has risen above them with greater knowledge and awareness of herself. Her personal imperative is to never take life too seriously, never get caught up in her mind too much, and be who she is without caring what others think of her. Its sounds a little cliche, and its something that we’re reminded of all around us these days, but the Baccurelli woman has LIVED it. She has cared too much about what others thought about her in the past, and at some point she relaxed and surrendered to all her weirdness and fully embraced who she was. Thats it in a nutshell. She adores who she is, and really only cares about being happy and having fun in this magical experience that we call life.

Is there a piece of your designs that has an unusual history?

The Be Mine candy brooch heart brooch was actually inspired by a huge cake!

Please tell us about a typical day at Baccurelli. What are your tasks?

My tasks are designing every piece, setting up each piece for laser cutting, order management, production management, hand making the pieces, shipping coordination, customer service, accounting, social marketing and business development. I basically design all the pieces, make them together with my husband (who also packs and ships the pieces) and run the whole business. On a typical day I start out by running through our Production Schedule, which I setup the night before. This is our bible. It has all the pieces that need to go out that day. We crank up our laser machine and start cutting every piece one at a time. Then we assemble, glue, polish and clean each piece. We allow a few hours for the glue to cure, and once everything is set, we wrap up the pieces, write the notes and put them in their envelopes for shipping. Then my husband walks to the post office to drop them off. We play and take care of our daughter, pick up our son from school and help him with homework, in between all those tasks. At night after the kids are put to bed, I’ll share things on social media and catch up with emails/comments from our beloved customers. This is a super fun time for me because our customers rock! We truly have the coolest, nicest and funnest customers ever and I treasure the personal relationship I have with many of them. They are my extended family! So our days starts at 7 am and end usually around 2-3 am.

Do you ever get bored of reproducing pieces and which of your designs is the most popular?

Not really. I imagine someone like George Michael getting bored of playing Careless Whispers (which btw we play at least once every day in our studio!), but I haven’t reached that level of saturation just yet! So far our most popular pieces are our Rosie and Frida brooches (both the large and mini). They seem to empower the wearer and help them through a rough day, which is everything we hope for and more. They are very loved pieces and worn by Baccurellians around the world. Its so beautiful and humbling to us.

Almost all of your cute dolls have their eyes closed and look like sleeping beauties. Is this a coincidence or is there a secret meaning behind this?

There’s a deeply personal meaning behind it. They are all based on our daughter Amelie’s sleeping face. I was enchanted by her beauty one night while she was sleeping in my arms, and was puzzled about what to make for her first birthday, which was coming up. So I decided to make a cake topper with her sleeping face, and because she is such a glamorous little girl, I gave her red lips. The cake topper was a success since everyone that attended the party kept saying how much it looked like her. So I decided to play around with different hair and accessories and see what other women she could embody. And the rest is history! So in essence all dolls are based on my daughter.

If you could pick five people (dead or alive) to design jewellery for, who would it be?

Kate Lanphear, Farida Khelfa, Leandra Medine, Sophia Amoruso and shockingly Marc Bolan, whom I adore. I’ve always envisioned Baccurelli as a brand for stylish men and women. People who like to push boundaries in their own unique style.

What do you prefer: Chanel or Moschino?

Moschino all the way. Tongue in cheek, graphic and full of yummy social satire. I adore Chanel as well, but for me personally, I prefer a little humor and social commentary in my clothes.

Isabella Blow or Anna Dello Russo?

Both! But if I have to choose, Isabella Blow. She stole my heart long before ADR!

You recently started to sell prints (I am lusting after a Bowie print very much). Is this kind of an homage to your former job as a graphic designer or part of a bigger plan to expand the range of Baccurelli?

It’s the first incursion into a bigger plan to create a line of Baccurelli Home. Some of our designs are so deeply loved, that it makes sense to lay down with your Frida pillow, or sip some tea in your Morticia cup and enhance your home with some colorful prints of your favorite icons. Our home is almost fully decorated in my own designs and I adore it. Their simplicity is appealing to both children and adults and its super easy to combine with other styles in your home. So I’m super amped to release more home decor items. Can’t wait for you all to see what we have in the works. But this is still a little ways away. Perhaps in another year or so.