Sara Ricciardi: Design as Narrative and Ritual

Sara Ricciardi, a Benevento-born designer based in Milan, blends craft, narrative, and ritual in her multidisciplinary practice. A 2015 NABA product design graduate, she founded her studio four years ago, producing products for companies, unique pieces for galleries, performances, interiors, and installations. Her work is influenced by Milan, Istanbul, and New York, and she was a Wallpaper Next Designer Generation 2018 finalist with Panerai. Since 2019, she has been art director of La Grande Bellezza – The Dream Factory for Gruppo Starhotels, a patronage project for Italian high craftsmanship, and is part of The Lady's Room collective with Agustina Bottoni, Ilaria Bianchi, and Astrid Luglio. Ricciardi cites Gianni Rodari and Bruno Munari for their 'grammar of fantasy,' and draws from Eastern practices like Ikebana and Butō dance. Her ORA series for Made in EDIT, with Simone Piva, includes a perpetual fountain, an incense burner, two massagers in walnut and rose quartz, and a 15-minute pyramid hourglass, designed for a morning ritual. She teaches Social Design and Relational Practices at NABA and Domus Academy in Milan, emphasizing that objects are narrative tools to move people.