Botteghe Digitali: the Banca Ifis web series on craftsmanship

An ancient art and the changing market: Botteghe Digitali tells the challenges of Studio Cassio Arte del Mosaico

The web reality dedicated to innovation in Italian craftsmanship continues: the third episode is dedicated to Studio Cassio, a Roman reality that doesn't want to change its workshop "philosophy", but that needs to take a step further. Stefano and Uliana are the two souls of the small workshop in the center of Rome which, between courses and commissions, is looking for the right mix to respond in a new way to market demands

Stefano, owner of Studio Cassio Arte del Mosaico, is a son of art: his father Fabrizio, who started the small workshop in the center of Rome that bears his name, created the mosaic of the Strawberry Fields Memorial on commission from Yoko Ono , located in New York's Central Park, in honor of John Lennon, as well as numerous works for the Vatican and other well-known destinations. Uliana arrived from Russia many years ago, in love with Italian culture, precisely to study this ancient art. Here he met Fabrizio and after many years as his apprentice, today he runs the business together with Stefano, including commissioned works and mosaic courses for tourists, and a family, created precisely together with Stefano, to run. In their laboratory, between the mosaics on the walls and the school desks, one really feels like one is in a workshop from another era. However, their art, ancient and fascinating, needs to find new ways to respond innovatively to market demands: in search of the perfect fusion between tradition and modernity, Stefano and Uliana have invented the Pixel Mosaics Kit, which allows the curious and enthusiasts to transform their photo-portrait into a real mosaic, wherever they are. An innovative product, but also expensive. Stefano and Uliana have to find the right combination to finance their business and, at the same time, find new figures to train, new mosaicists who, like them, love this art and wish to pass it on.

Not an easy challenge for Barbara Bonaventura, their coach at Botteghe Digitali, who, between meetings with specialists and exceptional professionals, studied a series of training courses together with Stefano and Uliana to help them find the right mix to help them one step further without "distorting" the reality of the Studio Cassio workshop, so important for Stefano and Uliana. In particular, the meeting with Anna Di Giorgio, architect and owner of Studio Anna Di Giorgio in Milan, highlighted how in some cases digitization must be a gradual process: before restyling the laboratory, Stefano and Uliana wish to give priority to relationship with the public and to develop a communication and visibility strategy.