Dispatches from Italy: Eco Warrior

Contributor post by Kat of Zero the One


I introduce to you Viktoria, Hungarian fire-dancing eco warrior. She used to be part of a troupe in Budapest, wielding swords and contraptions I don’t have a name for. Since she moved to Italy her biggest work has been the transformation of waste into useable goods or recycling trash into fashion. Old bicycle parts like wheel rings and rubber tires have been transformed into hanging lamps, belts, edgy jewelry and chairs. Excess fabric from factories she used to weave into bags, hammocks, and sandals and more recently utilizing coffee packaging into water-proof clutches and purses (with all the espresso Italians consume she sure has a LOT of material to work with). Take a look at her video portrait here:



It requires more than creativity to do the kind of work she does. A big amount of guts and stubborn perseverance is equally essential. Considering Italy has delivered brands like Armani or Versace, impressing the Italian shopper takes a lot of work. And though it is amazing for an artist to work with discarded materials it is conversely challenging for business. Despite this and the chic crowd of Pesaro, Viktoria has managed to provoke the local scene with free workshops at her studio where she shares her skills on various crafts and recycling.





Her playfulness and magic personality has attracted new friendships and connections. While at first reluctant to approach her work, a growing number of people are following and a local art/design shop is fast selling her work and adding to her already long list of orders. She plans to set up an online shop later this year but for now she’s headed up north for a long road trip to Poland for the biggest juggling festival of the year.
“We need to live life now!”, she says.

Kat
Zero the One

Jan Halvarson

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I can understand why she has a long list of orders! Beautiful upcycled work. And it's so important to be doing this for our planet, for us. Now---as she says! Thanks for sharing, Kat!

Unknown said...

Hello !

Does she has some kind of social media/blog to get in touch with her? Thank you for this great find!

Lila

Unknown said...

Hi Lila/Celyn, unfortunately shes not into social media or computers (she promises to get into it when she comes back from Poland. will try to update with a follow-up article then!). shes just one of those people who can easily live "off the grid". but thanks for asking and glad you enjoyed reading :)