JCU Welcomes Alumna Vittoria Notarbartolo di Villarosa, Founder of V.N.V. Sculpted Jewels
JCU welcomed Vittoria Notarbartolo di Villarosa, Marketing graduate and founder at V.N.V. Sculpted Jewels On September 28. After graduating, Vittoria decided to explore her creative side, and attended a course at Accademia delle Arti Orafe, in Rome. Upon learning how to design and create her own jewels Vittoria founded V.N.V. Sculpted Jewels. She now designs and produces, handcrafted micro-sculptured jewels, drawing inspiration from the animal and organic world.
Vittoria Notarbartolo di Villarosa
V.N.V. Sculpted Jewels is a one-person company, and Vittoria takes care of everything from jewel design and customer relationship management to social media and website management. Although this can be very challenging, it also allows her to get in tune with customers and have direct contact with them. Her products, in fact, are all made-to-order, meaning that every piece is unique and made according to customers’ taste.
The items Vittoria produces are rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, belts, dog collars, credit card holders, and charms. Compared to many other jewels, V.N.V. accessories are quite big and eye-catching, because Vittoria’s intention is to have people notice them. Her clients are mostly women, because, as she explained, they have a larger variety of jewels to wear, but she also sells to men, especially sculpted cuff links, buckle belts, and credit card holder.
The average price of her accessories is 200€. Her target segment are men and women with high/medium-high income and between the ages of 35 and 65. Vittoria also explained that her clients are usually people who are fond of artisanal work and made-in-Italy products, and, who love animals and nature.
V.N.V. Sculpted Jewels relies mostly on word of mouth marketing. Vittoria has a showroom where clients can see her work before commissioning their pieces and she also has social media pages, where she showcases her creations. Recently, she has started a collaboration with Meillart, the International Artisan platform in Belgium, and with an armory in Madrid that also sells accessories and hunting gear.
Vittoria recently expanded her business into producing ceramic sculptures as well. They are large-scale reproductions of her jewels, which can be used for home decor, both for indoor and outdoor spaces. She said that this product diversification may increase her target audience, because it would also include art and sculpture lovers, who are not necessarily into jewels, and would allow her to showcase her works in galleries. On the other hand, she stressed that this may create confusion in her customers, as she started as a jewel designer and maker. In addition, prices would be much higher for sculptures, as their price range is 1,000€ – 1,300€.
Vittoria is still deciding in which direction she wants to proceed with her business, but she knows that she will continue to produce artisanal work, where handcrafted and imperfect beauty are the main values. As she said, “every product made by hand, without using machines, is unique and even its small imperfections have a reason to be there and can tell a story about how that object was made.”
(Giorgia Tamburi)
