“Just as iron rusts from disuse, so intellect spoils without exercise. A life well spent brings a happy death." Leonardo Da Vinci
Sensitivity is a double-edged sword because it hurts those who possess it and strikes those who are unable to bear it. For years, we mistakenly convinced ourselves that sensitivity was synonymous with weakness; it was mistaken for fragility, insecurity, or a lack of b***s. In reality, modern psychology and neuroscience prove the exact opposite: sensitivity requires enormous inner strength. A sensitive person feels the impact of the world at maximum volume, yet continues to move forward with the strength that defines them.
“I am someone who cries easily, I get caught up in emotions, both beautiful and ugly, I live every emotion to the fullest. Too much, perhaps I live them too much.”
SIR EDWARD
Edoardo Tabacchi, better known as Sir Edward (yes, he is the one who designed the Ginarte bottle), welcomes us into his studio, which smells of history—of that something you know is there but cannot quite decipher, just as it is difficult to decipher him, though he has the b***s to say at the end of a chat, "I got emotional" (and it would be beautiful if people, for once, had the capacity to express such deep emotions).
“How did I start? I was studying at IED, a girlfriend at the time gave me a tattoo machine, and it started by chance, just for fun, and then I realized I liked it. Entirely self-taught, and when I finished IED, I realized I couldn't live life as a graphic designer. I FEEL FREE, although I must admit that since opening the studio, I feel less free.”
And that feeling of freedom is the same one you experience when you enter his studio: no dark dungeon, just light filtering through the windows and plenty of green—that green that puts you a bit at peace with yourself and forces you to live in the here and now (obviously, if you want to go visit him, we wish you the best of luck; they don't have a single opening, get on the waiting list).
SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT TO INSULT
You can feel that he is an artist, you experience it when you are around him—even that fucking world he has inside that not even we at Spaghetty managed to draw out (or rather, not entirely). But like every artist, like every bartender, like every chef, like every graphic designer, he too has to deal with what the client asks for. Sometimes the request is so absurd and beyond any logic (and we challenge any of you to say otherwise, because at least once in your life it has happened to you) that managing to accommodate them without insulting them is difficult for everyone, because sometimes you just want to scream: YOU ARE PAYING ME TO ADVISE YOU ON THE BEST SOLUTION.
“When do I not like a design? I don't tattoo until I am satisfied… I try to make them change their mind until... I try to make them understand that there is a better way. Absurd things they ask me to tattoo? Every day, but please don't write them down.”
I PREFER ANIMALS
As we often say, we are continuously bombarded by what society shows us: wonderful lives, perfect jobs, people who seem to run every day and never feel fatigue, while we often collapse exhausted on the couch, wondering what makes us different, often with a feeling of frustration. And in this race against time, we frequently find ourselves fantasizing and imagining our lives in corners of paradise, or simply in the open countryside surrounded by animals and nature. Obviously, the real boss of the studio is SPINA, a giant dwarf who has figured out how to make things work.
“I lived in the countryside my whole life; the best part was living there among animals, my best friends were dogs, it was just me and my brother and we played outside. This society weighs on me, I don't feel aligned with it, I see it as having a total indifference towards nature. Some people genuinely move to do something, but it's a minimal percentage. And do you manage to go back to the countryside? I always go back, as soon as I get the chance. I have a rejection of technology, a love-hate relationship with social media... They are distant from me, and when I started posting, I tried to convey genuineness. I used to succeed, now whoever knows me knows who I am…”
AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT URBEX MEANS?
Obviously, if you don't know, go look it up (come on, we use Gemini for any useless bullshit, every now and then let's make it do some serious research), but it is fascinating how urbex is somewhat the key to this personality—a man who gets emotional during an interview, who expresses authority (yes, he forces the whole studio to listen to 90s music, we had to say it), and at the same time is in a perennial search for answers. As if from those abandoned houses he could obtain those deeply profound answers he seeks, and above all, the attraction to risk—that feeling of fucking with time and rules to take a piece of history.
“I go to abandoned places. We leave on Sundays, I force my girlfriend to wake up early. What are you looking for? Frescoes, signs of the past, thoughts—it's like entering a free museum, time has stopped. Has it ever crossed your mind to live in a villa like that? Sometimes yes, but other times, why would someone live there? Some are in isolated places or some were abandoned due to financial problems.”
Traveling doesn't automatically make you smart; if you are an idiot, you stay an idiot even if you have traveled the entire world. But if instead you have that capacity to go beyond, that willingness not to stop, we can say it with certainty: it makes you better. Traveling forces you to settle accounts with yourself, and we aren't talking about two weeks in the Maldives (which are fine too) to show off photos on Instagram; we are talking about that feeling that only a truly lived journey can leave you with (and if you feel offended by our words, that's your problem).
“Scotland and Morocco... as far as nature goes, they are incredible. I traveled around them by car, taking less-traveled areas, I also did Cambodia… I try to look at the country from every angle, in everything, from the people (who interest me less)—I have to touch things firsthand, in Scotland I had to touch the castles… I sleep anywhere, from the worst B&Bs, I try not to spend too much, but there are times when I go to a cool place instead. If I have ever traveled alone? Yes, a trip just me and Spina in Tuscany... swimming in rivers, I didn't want to see people... I would go at night or in the morning at dawn.”
"To die is nothing; but to live defeated and without glory is to die every day." Napoleon Bonaparte
There is something so deep, strong, scary, and at the same time exciting about this quote. As if it were a toxic relationship with oneself, as if it were necessary to do something grand to be remembered, because even if we fool ourselves, we all know we want to be remembered or appreciated by someone.
“I have always tried to leave a mark, which physically I do as if I am always on people's bodies, I will always be with them. I love historical figures like Caesar or Napoleon, people we remember... I love to remain within people.”
And just like a scar on the skin that reminds us of the exact moment it was made, a tattoo brings the memory and the reason back to light, but even if we don't realize it, it carries with it the indelible signature of the person who brought our design to completion.
