In a cross-continental artistic exchange, local luxury jewellery brand Pichulik, known for its innovative use of rope embellished with brass and stones, has joined Italian creative Matteo Cibic in a collaboration that will see the creation of a series of playful and bizarre design objects.

Last week, Pichulik opened its atelier for a creative “conversation” between the brand’s founder and Cibic.

Cibic is a sculptor, designer, illustrator who works across disciplines and is known for his playful and experimental approach to product design, furniture and art. He’s inclined towards interesting materials and often blends functionality with surreal and whimsical elements, creating products in bold colours with unusual shapes.

Cibic has collaborated with various brands, including Jaipur Rugs and LVMH, and his work spans furniture, home, fashion and interiors. He describes himself as “a media creator who uses his craft to explore the world and imagine utopian futures”.

Pichulik is sold in up to 16 countries around the world and has collaborated with Copenhagen luxury brand By Malene Birger, Ghanaian luxury brand AAKS and designer Lukhanyo Mdingi.

Cibic and Katherine-Mary Pichulik spent the past few weeks sharing ideas between Milan and Cape Town on innovative materials, concepts, music and literature.

“We built an alphabet of our design elements, inspired by the Dada and Surrealist movements of the 20s and 30s. We drew on the Exquisite Corpse design technique, which began as a playful parlour game and morphed into immersive method of creating.

“Using a single piece of paper, a player draws a face, folds over the paper to conceal the illustration, then passes it to the next player, who draws the neck and so on until a full body is illustrated.

“When complete, the paper is unfolded and a weird new character is born based on a collaborative approach to design,” said Pichulik.

“Most of what we’ve used in this co-creation process has been taken from Matteo’s iconography and illustrations. We have forged these elements out of brass and reassembled them as wall pieces and design objects,” said Pichulik.

For Cibic, designing is a way of meeting people and discovering new places. He is fascinated by craftsmanship and was struck by the Pichulik design aesthetic and the brand’s innovative use of unconventional materials such as industrial rope and forged brass, to make contemporary, sculptural jewels.

He has been engaged in cross cultural exchanges in Brazil, India and Europe, working with different foundations that connect producers with other designers and, for him, the process becomes something of a sociological exploration.

“This collaboration was born out of a cross-continental conversation about design and creativity. Cape Town, our Mother City, was born out of cross-continental trade.

“This collaboration is a natural extension of building cross-continental navigation routes, especially when exploring accountability and the sustainable use of materials,” said Pichulik.

“Africa has become a dumping ground for significant amounts of waste. Using these materials supports the creation of a circular economy, opening up job creation and resource optimisation opportunities. Design is an incredible way to being conversations and forge new pathways forward.”

Italy, on the other hand, has long been associated with style and design, so how integral is this to the essence of the country and why is this?

“I believe it’s a matter of heritage. We grew up in cities,” said Cibic. “Wherever you look around we are surrounded by beauty. We have a long history in the visual arts and music. Even if you don’t attend school and you are not interested in art, you’re surrounded by it and therefore, somehow, compelled to be intrigued by it.”

For Cibic, the essence of “Made in Italy” is the design and care taken in producing Italian products rather than the brand communication.

“The French have three centuries of history and culture in producing, communicating and selling luxury products. Italy has a long history in production, not in the distribution of luxury products. That’s why there are few companies in the fashion and design industry still owned by Italian families — most of them are French.

“We really care about product. Branding is something we don’t believe is important but today branding and packaging can be more important than the product itself. While it’s a limit, it’s also our strength.”

Commentary on objects is an important part of the process. Cibic says there are too many products around the globe with no meaning, and yet people respond to stories.

“We don’t have photo frames in our homes any more with a picture of grandma or the relatives. We don’t have books any more, the houses are becoming more and more standard. If you see on Airbnb it’s pretty sad now looking for a house. If you look at houses in South Africa, New Zealand or New York they all look more or less the same. So, to me it’s interesting to create objects that connect to stories.”

He talks of how research says half the American population are going to have Alzheimer’s and one of the reasons for that is we don’t have solid objects that connect us to stories and memories and we are obsessed with speed — untouchable memories.

“We need objects that relate and connect to memory. That’s why I believe in objects and how objects should be carrying a story.”

Pichulik says at a time when countries are becoming increasingly isolationist and autocratic, fuelled by divisive rhetoric and poor leadership, cross country collaboration, connection, empathy and conversation have never been more important.

“Projects such as this use the lens of culture to build understanding and community, which I believe is vital for humanity.”