My name is Andrea, and I am passionate about fashion, creativity, and handmade crafts. After working for several companies, I realized I couldn't find an environment that reflected my values, so I created Valorosa, a project that uses creativity as a tool for generating positive impact.

I believe in the power of making things by hand and in the connections that emerge when people create together. This belief led me to found the Crochet Therapy Tour, a travelling project aboard a camper van that journeys across Italy, bringing crochet to as many people as possible.

Throughout the tour, I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of people and collaborate with creative groups, associations, schools, and communities across Italy. These experiences have shown me how crochet can bring different generations together and transform creative time into moments of sharing, connection, and personal growth.

At Abilmente, I will bring this experience with me, ready to inspire and welcome anyone who would like to discover crochet in a simple, enjoyable, and accessible way.

My art is collaborating with Nature. I create textile objects exclusively with natural fibres. I like working with my hands and with what Nature offers: mine are unique and unrepeatable pieces, because they are the result of seasonal, occasional encounters between fibers and plants. Each piece, thread, fabric, dress, tapestry, is dyed only with natural colors, thanks to techniques such as ecoprint or botanical printing, Shibori, vegetable inks, indigo. I also deal with spinning with the spindle and the wheel and the symbolic meanings linked to these activities, the dyeing plants and the colors obtained from them.

Nene (he/they - "lui" in Italian) has always been a creative and art-loving individual. Through various passions such as cinema, comics, tabletop and role-playing games, and cosplay, he learns tailoring and pattern-making, and soon develop a fascination for textile arts: knitting, crocheting, weaving, and modern embroidery. In the latter, he discovers a powerful means of communication, a way to relax and detach from everyday life, and an engaging and connected community. In December 2020, he gives a name to this project, "neneedle," combining "nene" and "needle," as needle in English. 

His favorite subjects to depict are connected to the natural world: animals, leaves, fruits, and vegetables, which share values and themes that reflect the core principles of neneedle: environmental awareness, recycling, sustainability; queerness, bodily expression, and free expression of art, the LGBTQ+ community, pride in being oneself; and creativity, art and passion for beauty.