We visited designer Maddalena Selvini’s atelier in Milan, where her work is grounded in using raw materials and maintaining a deep respect for craftsmanship. Known for letting materials guide her design process, Maddalena approaches her work with patience and curiosity. For our collaboration, she designs and co-creates the Stone Diffuser, crafted from reclaimed stone powder and transformed through fire into a new material called Arena. We sat down with Maddalena to learn more about her process, the story behind Arena, and how she weaves scent into her daily life.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Maddalena Selvini. I'm based in Milan and I am Milanese-Italian. I'm a designer. I have a special feeling for and interest in learning from materials themselves. They are my guide in the design process.
What is the inspiration behind your work?
I try to keep a very spontaneous approach with anything that I design, so it's never too intentional. I kind of let the material speak to me, even though it feels a bit strange to say it like that. I'm usually fascinated by a process, maybe a craftsperson working with a specific material, and I start investigating that process and the material itself. I try to understand what might be hidden in it, another property that maybe wasn't revealed before, or not enough. Then I work with that in a very intuitive way. So for the diffuser, for example, it wasn’t something I planned. It came from discovering an interesting property of the material.
What was the idea behind the diffuser?
The thing was, when I realised that by mixing leftover powder I could create this new, very porous material, it was like a solid sponge. One idea was to use this sponge-like material to make a vase. But the second idea, and the one that worked best, was to make a diffuser. Instead of using water, I added oil, and then with a candle underneath, it diffuses the aroma from the oil. It works very simply and naturally.
When did you first have the idea for the diffuser? Was that a long time ago?
It was in 2017. I was part of a big design fair and had to come up with an idea, so I started experimenting with the powder. I had already made a collection of ceramics using the powder mixed with porcelain, but I still felt the urge to use only the waste, just the powder, without adding anything else. I wanted it to stand on its own. After experimenting a lot, I found this process.
Did you have the waste in your own atelier, or did you find it somewhere else?Alberto, the man who works with this stone, which is called Pietra Ollare, has a workshop where this powder is everywhere. When you enter, you’re surrounded by this blue-coloured dust. Generations of his family have been turning stone there, so the powder has built up over time. It was very spontaneous to think that there must be something interesting to do with all of it. It felt very logical.
What can we do with all this waste product?
It’s actually a bit of a problem to throw the powder away. They have so much of it, and they even have to pay to dispose of it. But it's a beautiful material, so I just thought, why not use it?
So it’s like a full-circle recycling project.
Yes, that was the intention, to create something fully sustainable in that sense.
We’ve talked about the stone. Why is the material called Arena Stone?
Arena means sand in Latin. But also, an arena is a place where something happens, a performance or theatrical act. To me, it was also a bit conceptual. It’s the scene where the diffusing action takes place.
Did you come up with the name Arena Stone?
Yes. I really like working with words, finding double meanings. It’s like powder becoming a new stone, a new material born from something discarded.
So it’s sand becoming hard, with air in between the particles?
Yes, exactly. I’m not a scientist, but that’s basically it. It stays porous, and that’s what makes it diffuse.
Why does the stone diffuse? What gives it that property?
The sand is fired at a very high temperature, around 1300 degrees, which makes it solid. It’s like the sand starts to melt, but just enough to bind together. It leaves all these tiny holes, so it stays porous. It doesn’t begin as something solid. It begins as sand. It melts a bit, just enough to stay compact, but with air inside.
Lastly, how do you incorporate scent into your daily life?
Since I created the diffuser, I love to have it on, especially when I finally have time to make my home feel settled and calm. It’s like the last touch before going to bed, to have some nice scent around. I use it in moments of calm, never when I’m rushing or doing a hundred things. For me it’s more of a ritual, something intentional. I use it when I’m reading, cooking, or doing something quiet.
