In companies, the road toinnovation begins withuse and need. It starts as an idea and makes its way into the laboratories, where the product is developed and tested, which then ends up in the hands of those who will use it. Creative talents will explore its potential and limitations, igniting a spark capable of triggering a new process: potential, use, need, and so on. It is a virtuous give-and-take, where everyone wins – win-win, as the Anglo-Saxons like to say – and which was the guiding star at Ambassador Days, which saw Rio Verde host a group of interior decoration talents.
Innovation and inspiration: a shared path
There is a special energy that one breathes when creative talent meets industrial innovation. This is what happened during the visit of a group of decorators to the Renner Italia facilities. An unprecedented event for the company, organised to explore new synergies between those who produce coatings of excellence and those who, every day, transform them into art. The group consisted of Emma Balzano, Veronica Capponi, Donatella Cipolla, Beatrice Dallera, Sabrina Di Fonte, Simona Furgieri, Cristina Lovera, Elenia Marsella and the duo formed by Martina Rossano and Luca Anibaldi. They came from different parts of Italy – from Milan to Pompei, from Mantua to Rome, from Turin to Latina – and visited the Renner Italia plants full of expectation.
Summing up the mood well was Sabrina Di Fonte: “I am very curious to get to know all the products and how they can be used,” she said, “and I am even more curious to see the company, because they have all spoken highly of it.
Expectations, of course, were not disappointed. In an atmosphere reminiscent of a group of children in a confectionery factory, the guests took part in a company tour under the attentive guidance of Elisa Khayam, product manager of the Rio Verde line, who unveiled the ‘secrets’ of the company, told its peculiar story, and accompanied the guests through the departments. Stage by stage, they got to know the beating heart of this reality – the people who work there every day, with their stories, experiences, skills.
Stories of talent and passion
The group was composed of professionals with differentbackgrounds, united by their passion for colour and transformation. Among them were those who, like Veronica Capponi, made decoration a profession because of the many requests she she received via social media from people who saw the creations she made for herself. Those who started directly on construction sites, like Martina Rossano and Luca Anibaldi. Those who came from the visual arts, like Donatella Cipolla, or from set design, like Sabrina di Fonte. Those who have always considered themselves creative, like Elenia Marsella, who as soon as she sees a piece of furniture can already imagine what it will look like after her intervention.
There were those who literally grew up amidst pigments and colours, such as Beatrice Dallera, daughter ofart (her mother is a highly appreciated decorator and artist), and Emma Balzano, absolutely at ease in a paint company and fascinated by product data sheets. Cristina Lovera told how decoration started for her as an inner need , a way to combine art, therapy and education (she started working precisely as an educator), while Simona Furgieri shared her 20-year journey, describing decoration as a journey of continuous discovery from what was initially just a hobby, a “way to get away from it all”.
Creativity in dialogue: art meets industry
As CEO Lindo Aldrovandi , who wanted to meet and greet the group, reiterated, creativity has a fundamental importance as an engine of innovation.
It is precisely in this combination that the value of the relationship between Renner Italia and the decorators lies: their know-how can guide the company towards new developments, in a virtuous cycle of mutual inspiration.
But creativity must then be put into practice. And this is what happened during the workshops. Among brushes, rollers and paint cans, under the expert guidance of Alessandro Presbitero, technician of Rio Verde, the group finally put their proverbial ‘hands in the dough’.
Earlier we were talking about potential: the decorators explored those of the Vintage Prestige, Golden Prestige and the new Evolution lines, immersing themselves in an experience that stimulated questions, exchanges of ideas and comparisons on techniques, always under the banner of a desire to learn and great humility.
As Simona Furgieri reiterated at one point: ‘after twenty years, I think I am one hundredth familiar with all the possibilities there are in this job’.
A glimpse into the future
At the end of the experience, it is time to take stock.
We leave you with the words of one of them, Sabrina Di Fonte, who said: ‘Take an empty backpack, put some old work clothes in it, comfortable shoes for walking around Bologna, a small notebook to write things down and the desire to go and discover a new place to play with colours… Put it on your shoulder, close your eyes for a moment, breathe deeply and imagine what that place should be like. Open your eyes and you are no longer alone as usual, you are together with many other people like you, people who love colours, who want to play with them as much as you do, who want to share emotions and with whom you feel a kinship. There are also people who make you all the colours in the world, who explain to you how many games you can play with them and who pamper you with smiles and little presents. There you are teleported to Renner: a magical place where anything can happen… And then you close your eyes and return home, but your backpack now has new things in it for colouring, your enthusiasm has returned and you feel less alone now to walk a road that few understand. We will travel that road together with all of them. In the coming months, the decorators will transform what they have learned into new creations, continuing to tell a unique story with each brushstroke. And we, on these pages, will get to know these talents better. The journey into the world of colour has just begun.