Made in Stadera: Spazio 3R and the Community Tablecloth

Sharing. This is the word that guided the project “Made in Stadera,” a long communal table dedicated to the neighborhood’s artisan realities, organized by Penelope Story Lab and Stadera Design District. During the closing dinner, Spazio 3R was presented with a special tablecloth created in collaboration with Sara Ricciardi of Sara Ricciardi Studio, who served as an art director.

A Project That Gives Voice to the Neighborhood

After designing banners for Design Week 2025, we were once again invited to take part in an initiative in Milan’s Stadera neighborhood. Made in Stadera was part of the broader project Voci dal quartiere (“Voices from the Neighborhood”). As Eliana from the creative writing school and cultural association Penelope Store Lab Aps explains, the project was born from a desire to tell the story of the neighborhood through the lives of the people who inhabit it. “I wanted to listen,” Eliana shares. This intention led to a series of initiatives, including a workshop and a collective lunch that brought together local designers and artisans. For this occasion, based on a design by Sara Ricciardi, we created the tablecloth Buon appetito (“Enjoy your meal”), which became the centerpiece of the communal lunch held at Giardini Bianchi on September 28.

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The "Buon appetito" Tablecloth

Each artisan and designer involved created a unique object for the table: ceramic pitchers and glasses, napkin holders, or trays. Using high-quality reclaimed fabric, Spazio 3R contributed a tablecloth, a symbolic and practical element that brings people together around a shared meal. On the white fabric, our tailors sewed colorful geometric shapes and used a digital embroidery machine to add the phrase “Buon appetito” in multiple languages. This tablecloth represents more than a functional object. As Eliana explains, “Individual stories are like threads that come together to create a fabric, a collective narrative, a physical and emotional space. Stories are told not only through words, but also through handmade objects.”

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The Value of Neighborhood Networks

Spazio 3R and the other artisans who participated are part of what Eliana calls the neighborhood’s “resistance.” Resisting the unchecked development of large cities means strengthening connections among local realities and preserving a neighborhood identity rooted in proximity and relationships. That identity exists because it is shaped by the people who live there.

The collective lunch brought residents together in an atmosphere of celebration, listening, and fun. After the meal, the artists’ creativity was celebrated with a tombola game, and the prizes included the handcrafted objects, including our tablecloth.

Sharing, craftsmanship, and close relationships were the key ingredients that made this community moment meaningful, bringing together different voices, stories, and experiences around one table.