Sara is the owner of We Are Nodo, a textile and jewellery brand that I have discovered through Instagram. She will be helping me making your orders from now on. As I value everyone's work and to be totally transparent with you, here is a little introduction of her.
Please could you tell us a little bit about you
My name is Sara Bellinato, I’m originally from the North East of Italy. I was born in a little town in the countryside and always dreamt of moving into a big city and finally made it to London almost 8 years ago. I went to art school and afterwards gained a BA in Fine Arts. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a goldsmith but life took a weird turn and somehow it took me 20 years to make it happen.
Where did you learn how to make jewellery? And is there a particular technique or material you prefer working with?
When I was a kid, I’ve learned knitting and crocheting from the women in my family and I’ve always been very manual and practical. When I moved to London I set up my own brand and started making textile jewellery. A few years later I made friend with a girl who is a goldsmith and we decided to collaborate on a collection in which we blended together metals with fabric. I then decided I wanted to learn traditional jewellery techniques. I did a few short courses at City Lit and then enrolled for the annual course. I still have so much to learn, jewellery is a never ending journey really. But I think it’s important to practice, there’s no better teacher than our own mistakes. I still love working with fabrics and metals and in the near future I’m planning to explore more the wax carving technique.
What inspires you the most?
Nature, art and traditional crafts.
What have you been doing to live more sustainably recently?
I’m trying my best to eat seasonal and local veggies which I buy directly from the farmers. I buy loose foods and choose refills for my cleaning products.
I quit fast fashion 4 years ago and since then I only buy few pieces of clothing each season when I’m not making my own jumpers or clothes. I love vintage clothing and forniture so that’s always my first choice when I need something. I love swaps and I’m glad a lot of friends are passing me down some of their unwanted clothes.
I’m not always perfect in my choices but I strive to be considerate and mindful most of the time. I hope governments would do more!