• profile : I was born in a period in which the world was not ruled by fear and political correctness, or that is what I like to think, of two American figurative painters, Alan Feltus and Lani Irwin. Thus I grew up with my younger brother, Joseph, amongst artists and other creatives in an eclectic environment where I learned that there is nothing unusual, and the fabric of the world need not remain mysterious. Bones, insects, taxidermy, art, erotica and design are all constituents of what I have been, and always will be, and I am a strong believer in Henri Cartier-Bresson's saying that "there is no aesthetic peculiar to photography or drawing"; let that apply itself to design also.

In the early eighties my father taught drawing and painting at a university in Washington D.C.. I recall that I attended one of his life drawing classes when I was about four. The model, whose name was Jane Batt, was slightly plump, and spotty. I assume, in retrospect, that they were moles, but I know for a fact that I was the only person to draw the spots. To me they seemed the most important, or prominent feature of her body, despite her nakedness. That day I also saw a student shading a drawing after the model had left; it was the first time I had seen shading.

From 1987 I grew up in central Italy, having fled from institutionalized ignorance to a country that claims 70% of the world's artistic and historical heritage. At some point in my stay in Italy I realized that I wanted to influence the world, and I have chosen to do so through offering improvements to people's lifestyles.

My move to Edinburgh in 1999 introduced me to a whole new world of development where I was able to observe different ways of seeing things. In '99 I had the opportunity to meet one of my greatest idols, Cartier-Bresson. At 91, with a walking stick and two hearing aids, he stood alone, looking bored. As I observed several people as they tried to make conversation, and some even tried to show him contact prints, which disgusted me. Through my inquisitive nature I approached him in the form of a question, his answer was: "Are you from the police asking all these questions?"

I design for those who give great importance to their environment and visual qualities, people who put aesthetics and quality above quantity. People who don't necessarily live this way to entertain, but rather as a personal necessity in life. Design and criticism are a way of life for me, not a profession. I was born a critic, and am designer by choice. Creation is existence, and creating for others is infinitely more satisfying than creating for yourself.

Recently I have created an intricate statement of design criticism as a form of rejection towards the stylistic mayhem that is often considered minimal and functional. It is a series of products that define a new movement in design, a form of Post-Neo Classical-Modernism: a trend, or occurrence, and movement in design and lifestyle that is driven less by discovery and technology (as in the case with Art Deco) and more by a lack of personal culture and the intrinsic need for customisation. It is the need to make a Sony Wega system not look out of place next to a Rodin sculpture; a new movement that answers to the need for contextualization of design, and fills the large gap that may still be called po-po-mo. It is a style and philosophy that encompasses the jungle that is considered contemporary design.

• projects : My recent work has become a series of objects that follow a line of thought from formal design and photography, through a regression stimulated by the bitterness of the design industry. I have created a manual that will guide and instruct people's taste and facilitate them to be able to make the design decisions on their own, giving them the mastery to be able to design a Feltusfecit Original. I am democratising design. I am catering for the thousands who live in Victorian flats and have no understanding of what looks good in them, and hence have a cacophonous mix of styles and periods, so I am telling them how they can mix things themselves to make them work together, rather than against each other.

My current projects include furniture and product design, as visible on this web site, as well as journalism (fashion/design), graphic design/illustration and photography. Throughout my life I have worked extensively in drawing, painting, sculpture and photography, as well as graphic design and computer graphics, which are all just small parts that put together make what I am.

• equipment : (from hard to soft)
I consider myself to be fairly apt in a woodworking and metal work, for making prototypes. Saws, lathes, vac-formers, drills and hand tools.

Frustrated with shopping for menswear, I started designing and making my own clothes in 2001, which has subsequently been branded Androcentric. Since then I have acquired moderate skills with pattern cutting and development, cutting and sewing, which is combined with other experience in product design, drawing and sculpture.

I set up my first black and white dark room in 1991, and have spent a lot of time working with both black and white photography and colour, both staged (studio) and reportage/street photography. I have moderate experience in a black and white darkroom, and with photogravure (etching). I have worked with and learned from Emmet Gowin, Gordon Knox, Susan Copen Oken, Roberto Vaccai and Iain Stewart.

I started working with 2d computer graphics in 1997, and now consider myself to be very competent with Photoshop and Freehand. I am quite confident with 3d Studio Max, Rhino and Autocad, and have also been working with Flash and Dreamweaver for several years. I perceive the computer as a tool that is irreplaceable in design.

I am completely bilingual (Italian/English).

• resume :

Born 1979, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Resident in Assisi, Italy from 1987 to 1999, currently living in Edinburgh, UK.

• education :

• 2003-2004 MDes in Design and Applied Arts/ Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art.

•1999-2003 BA(Hons) in Design and Applied Arts/ Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art.

• 1987-1997 Self directed education with diplomas awarded by The Learning Community, Maryland, U.S.A.,
the Istituto Salesiano ‘D. Bosco’, Perugia, Italy, and The Meher Primary English School in Ahmednager, India

• awards :

• 2002-2003 Royal Society of Edinburgh/Scottish Executive trophy design competition for the 2020 Science: Education Conference, second place.

• 2002 European Coil Coat Association national design competition, second place.

• 2001 Edinburgh International Science Festival design competition, first place.

• grants :

• 2003-2004 Andrew Grant Bequest - Major Award to fund Postgraduate study (MDes) in the school of Design and Applied Arts at Edinburgh College of Art.

• 2002 HFT Stuttgart Project Week.

• 2001 Worshipful Furniture Company industrial tour.

• 2001 Andrew Grant first year achievement grant.

• exhibitions :

• 2009 untitled - Solo Exhibition, Biagiotti Progetto Arte, florence

• 2009 Mankind: Versions & Perversions - curated by Edward Lucie-Smith, Werkstattgalerie, Berlin

• 2009 Un Orrizonte Interno - Joint Solo Exhibition, Entroterra, Milan

• 2009 Domestic Zirkus - Solo Exhibition, Citizens Theatre , Glasgow

• 2009 Domestic Zirkus - Solo Exhibition, Whitecross Gallery, London

• 2009 Abroad, Galleria Entroterra, Milan

• 2009 Salon, Whitecross Gallery, London

• 2008 'Conscious Life' and 'My Best Shot' at Kinofest, Romania

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets’- City Art Centre, Edinburgh, UK

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' and ‘Conscious Life’- Amiens International Film Festival, France

• 2007 ‘Conscious Life’- Marbella International Film Festival, Spain

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, Lincoln Center, U.S.A.

• 2007 Demone Meridiano, ArTobe, Italy

• 2006 CAP-I-CUA, Galeria MiTO, Barcelona, Spain

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Anima Mundi 2007, Brazil

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Maremetraggio International Short Film Festival, Italy

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Fesival du Cinéma Italien, Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
WINNER - Solo Duets - Prix du Milleur Court-Metrage

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - La Settimana Corta, Nuovi Sentieri, Italy

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Cortinquieti, Italy

• 2007 Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF), Iran

• 2006 Immagina, Italy.

• 2006 Lineart, Belgium.

• 2006 Art Verona, Italy.

• 2006 'Solo Duets' - nominated for the Nastri d'Argento Cortometraggi 2006, Italy

• 2006 International Animation Film Festival Animateka, Slovenia.

• 2006 AniFest, Budapest, Hungary.

• 2006 I Castelli Animati, Genzano di Roma, Italy.

• 2006 Student Film Festival Sleepwalkers, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia.

• 2006 Leeds International Film Festival, UK.

• 2006 PISAF 2006, Korea.

• 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival, Netherlands.

• 2006 36th Kyiv IFF Molodist, Ukraine.

• 2006 Norwich International Animation Festival, UK

• 2006 3rd China International Animation and Digital Arts Festival (CICDAF 2006), China.

• 2006 5 th International Best of Short Films Festivals, France.

• 2006 Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan.

• 2006 Krok International Animation Festival, Russia - Ukraine.

• 2006 56^ Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte G.B. SALVI, Italy.

• 2006 Krakow Film Festival, Poland.

• 2006 Anifest, Czech Republic

• 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, EntroTerra - Milan

• 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, Arte.Novaglio - Brescia

• 2005 Bradford Animation Festival, Bradford

• 2005 59th Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh

• 2005 Promenade: Arte ed il Circo, Brescia

• 2005 DesignUK MILANO 2005, Milan

• 2004 ECA Mdes Degree Show 2004, Edinbrugh

• 2004 DesignUK SELECTION 2004, London

• 2004 NewDesigners - One Year On -, London

• 2003 Urban Interiors, London

• 2003 DESIGN UK Pick of 2003, London

• 2003 ON/OFF, London

• 2003 NewDesigners 2003, London

• 2003 ECA Degree Show 2003, Edinburgh

• 2003 2020 Science: Education Conference, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh

• experience :

• 2005- residency at Edinburgh College of Art.