The product: Handmade placemats weaved on the loom with colorful and playful strings. The designer: Valentina Chiodi, born in Rome in 1974, is an architect by training and a lifelong curious and avid traveler. After nearly 10 years of living in Cambodia, she arrived in Sicily in 2019, where she now resides in Palazzolo Acreide, surrounded by nature—her constant source of inspiration. “My passion for weaving was born during the Covid pandemic, almost by chance. Being at home, I wanted to keep dreaming to ensure my innate creativity didn’t fade away. For me, weaving is like composing a piece of music or painting—it’s an artistic release. I lose myself in the colors and patterns; it’s a way to feel free and fully express myself as and when I want. As an architect, I often couldn’t. Passionate about India and the god Shiva, who embodies immense powers of creation and destruction, I founded Chiva, which fully represents me.”