Orogami To Present Diverse Luxury Jewelry Collections At Couture Show
The 18-karat gold Orogami Seed of Capri collection is set with gemstones that embody colors of the ... More island's vibrant flowers and blue-green waters.
'Fortune favors the bold,' and this rings especially true for jewelers, who invest finances, time and energies into creating luxuries that often take months or years to yield returns. Nevertheless, the Italian goldsmiths Tiziana and Massimo Aloisio, co-founders of Orogami fine jewelry, embody proof of the ancient saying's truth, as by any objective standard, they are boldly prolific and artistically successful. Orogami encompasses 18 distinct and stylistically varied fine jewelry ranges, all of them are classic, and many of them are gender-fluid in style and appeal. With a unique narrative animating each collection, there is thus a story inside of each Orogami design. As the Orvieto-based Aloisios explained during a Zoom interview, 'Our jewels are designed and made in Italy, and they are talismans with meaning besides being beautiful adornments.' Orogami's widely resonant designs distinguish the brand as a creator of heirlooms, and it will be exhibiting at the Couture Show, held at the Wynn Las Vegas, from the 4th till the 8th of June, in Cristal Ballroom, booth #630.
From Orgami's Seed collection, this 18-karat yellow gold bracelet is a sculptural jewel and a ... More meditation on the essential life force of seeds.
Sparkling in its 35th year, Orogami derives its name from "Oro," the Italian word for gold, and "Gamos," the ancient Greek word for wedding. 'Our company name means union in gold,' Tiziana explained, 'it also holds a deeper significance, embodying the Japanese word 'Imagoro,' meaning 'about this time.' This underlying philosophy infuses each collection with a timeless essence, capturing the spirit of the present moment. Moreover, our logo," she continued, "is an Etruscan rose, which is the Western version of the Far East's lotus flower, a symbol of life.' The Aloisios both studied classical art, architecture, and jewelry history, and have restored ancient Etruscan jewelry for various museums. Their Orogami collections retail worldwide through their e-commerce platform and they are initiating retail partnerships within the USA and other countries.
Orogami's Labyrinth collection is based on the belief that each one of us must boldly walk our own ... More path through life.
While space limitations prohibit discussion of all Orogami collections, one of the most intriguing ones is the Labyrinth, which is available in 18-karat white, 18-karat yellow gold, and 18-karat rose gold. This collection elevates the age-old symbolism of the labyrinth through a dynamic and meaningful element: a moving stone. This precious gem, delicately set within the design, becomes the tangible representation of our self-walking along the winding path of life. Its free movement within the confines of the labyrinth constantly reminds us of the necessity to persevere, not to get lost in uncertainties, but to always maintain direction towards the intended goal, towards the full realization of our potential. (Cuff links, necklaces, rings, earrings, and pendants comprise this range.) For example, 'Labyrinth pendants come with a silk cord, and there are six silk cord colors to choose from,' Massimo explained. 'Inspired by the moving stone's representation of our life's journey and the need to stay true to ourselves, some clients will, over time, add a new stone to their personal labyrinth as a tangible reminder of a significant moment or a cherished goal.' As with any labyrinth, Massimo summarized, 'The goal is to stay on path to reach the center. These jewels remind us to stay centered.'
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Handmade in Italy, the Bubbles collection by Orogami makes a festive yet classic statement with ... More graceful design, richly hued gemstones and master artisanship.
Orogami's Seed of Life collection poignantly reminds us of Nature's regenerative power. 'We designed Seed of Life after September 11, 2001.' Tiziana said. 'We lost friends during that tragedy, and we honor them with this collection, which encapsulates the consciousness of our creative acts, emphasizing the profound impact of every thought, word, and deed. Encouraging kindness, compassion, and positivity, the Seed Collection urges us to nurture these seeds within ourselves and others, fostering a world where love and understanding flourish abundantly.' The circular motif, also present in the Seed of Life bracelet, stands as Orogami's signature, a visual echo of the designers' deepest wish. Inspired by the circle's ancient representation of life across diverse cultures, this motif conveys a heartfelt wish for a long and prosperous life.
Then there is the Seed of Capri collection, an outgrowth of the Seed of Life, which is the Aloisios way of celebrating the beautiful island that hosted the Orogami store for years, a heartfelt tribute to a place they deeply admire. Crafted from 18k gold and adorned with composite stones, each piece radiates the island's kaleidoscope of colors and textures. 'The gems in Seed of Capri are cut by one of Italy's most renowned stonecutters, a father and son lapidary duo, who also have worked for Bulgari and Cartier,' the Aloisios related. 'The island of Capri is a natural wonder, and the blue mother-of-pearl and rock crystal jewels in this collection were inspired by the unforgettable color of the water in Capri's Blue Grotto, which is a magical, azure sea cave that can be visited by boat.'
Alive with buoyant shapes, precious gemstones and negative space, the Bubbles collection by Orogami ... More is a timeless and intricate range.
Created after their daughter Angelica graduated high school, the best-selling Bubbles collection references how bubbles give champagne its festive fizz; how bubbles remain on the beach after the tide has receded, and how the floating iridescence of soap bubbles look magically colorful, bright and light. 'Bubbles also grew out of what we told Angelica as she left for university,' Massimo recalled. 'Quoting the Eleanor Roosevelt saying - the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams, we told her to keep her dreams alive.' Made in 18K rose gold, yellow gold, and white gold, the Bubble collection looks and feels full of lightness and purity. This writer found the two-sided Bubble pendant with enhancer a versatile, as well as beautiful, design which can be worn on either side for two looks. The fact that it can easily detach for wear on various chains or cords is another plus.
As Tiziana and Massimo's daughter Angelica works alongside them, Orogami is now a heritage brand, one committed to a more sustainable future. As she explained during the Zoom interview, 'I studied economics in Milano and have a Master of Science degree in global business management. My dissertation documented how sustainable practices can factor into textile production to make the industry friendlier to our planet and our society.'
The Orogami "We Wear Art" sustainable silk scarf collection embodies imagery from frescos that adorn ... More the interior of Orvieto's cathedral.
Her university studies in sustainable business continue to pay dividends for Orogami operations and for Orvieto's famed cathedral (the Duomo). Recently, Angelica spearheaded an initiative that bridges the worlds of fine art and applied art called 'We Wear Art.' As she explained, 'We Wear Art is an OROGAMI sustainable silk scarf project that celebrates and communicates the beauty, power, and cultural importance of fine art. In the We Wear Art Orvieto Collection,' she detailed, 'historically renowned artworks from the cathedral of Orvieto are reproduced on sustainable Italian silk scarves that come in five different sizes: Twilly (13x43 inches), Man Pocket Square (18x18inches), Smaller Carré 27.5x27.5 inches, Classical Carré (35.5x35.5 inches) and Shawl (18x71 inches).' Orogami is donating a percentage of each scarf purchase to the Opera of the Duomo of Orvieto to support the preservation of its artistic heritage.
For example, Luca Signorelli's fresco series in the San Brizio Chapel of the cathedral. The Orvieto collection's Trumpeter Angel scarf faithfully reproduces part of a fresco from the chapel of San Brizio, located in the right transept of the cathedral, which was built between 1408 and 1444. (This chapel is famous for its frescoes depicting the Last Judgment, begun by the painter Beato Angelico in 1447 and completed by Luca Signorelli in 1499-1502.) As Signorelli was the first artist to paint bodies in perspective, his work made a deep and haunting impact on his contemporaries—and on art history. Churchgoers had literally never seen any images like that before. 'In his day, this was considered Signorelli's greatest work,' Angelica explained, 'due to the grandeur of its size and its graphic imagery. We took great care during the photographic process,' she added, 'to ensure that the colors faithfully reproduced the hues in these precious, world-renowned artworks.' Other scarves from Orogami depict details from various Orvieto cathedral areas. For example, Orogami's scarf of the Musician Angel is reproduced from mosaics that adorn the cathedral's façade: these were based on a 13th century drawing and completed in the 19th century.
18-karat white gold, diamond and colored gemstone Bubble earrings embody a painterly color sense and ... More sculpturally strong structure that's reminiscent of Italian mosaics
Each of the scarves in the We Wear Art collection is made of 100% Italian organic silk, and is finished by hand and certified GOTS. (This appellation is an abbreviation of the Global Organic Textile Standard, the world's pre-eminent certification system for organic textiles.) 'GOTS certification,' Angelica said, 'ensures that a given textile is made from organic fibers and was processed sustainably throughout the entire textile process, from fiber production to the finished product. GOTS certification also ensures that materials are organic, all manufacturing processes are environmentally and socially responsible, and that the products are safe for consumers.' As Angelica ventured, 'Thanks largely to the Opera of the Duomo of Orvieto, the We Wear Art initiative is succeeding.' This autonomous body, she related, 'is responsible for the maintenance and conservation of the cathedral, and administration of its assets. It's extremely satisfying to be working with the cathedral on preserving its masterpieces, while uniting Orogami with Orvieto's artistic heritage.'
This Orogami scarf design reproduces bejeweled mosacis that adorn the facade of the Duomo of ... More Orvieto, Italy.
Speaking of artistic heritage, the Aloisios gave birth to their very own through serendipitous circumstances. 'We found ourselves seated next to each other in 1990 on a flight from Rome to Milan,' Massimo recalled. 'Neither of us intended to take it due to scheduling problems.' When Massimo gave Tiziana his business card on that flight, Tiziana recalled with a laugh, 'I could never have imagined we'd start a family in addition to a prolific fine jewelry collection that's going strong after 35 years. What good fortune! We are all looking forward to showing Orogami in Las Vegas this June.'
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Internet celebrity Tiki is up for adoption. The waitlist is full.
Internet celebrity Tiki is up for adoption. The waitlist is full. Show Caption Hide Caption Foster dog Tiki's viral TikTok journey from fear to affection, and now, adoption Tiki, a rescue dog in Los Angeles, overcomes his traumatic past with love and patience. Now, he's ready for adoption, with hundreds of hopeful applicants. Tiki, who melted millions of hearts with his innocence and recovery, is now up for adoption, his foster Isabel Klee said. The plot twist, however, is that applications and the waitlist are both full after the 5-year-old dog received more than 100 applications in just the first hour alone. The pooch, who got a new lease on life after he was rescued from dire circumstances, became social media famous after Klee documented his journey on TikTok, with some of the videos garnering millions of views. "The response has been so heartwarming," Klee, a content creator and upcoming author based in Brooklyn, told USA TODAY. "The world can be a really harsh place, especially right now. There's a lot going on, and I think everybody just kind of needed this story that was feel good and hopeful to turn to." Tiki's virality also helped New York-based Muddy Paws Rescue, who connected Klee with Tiki, raise over $200,000 through Tiki-themed merchandise and donations, Klee said. Tiki refused to leave his bed when he first came home When Klee first brought him home, Tiki did not eat, drink or leave his bed even to go to the bathroom. Klee was unable to reveal the circumstances in which Tiki was rescued due to privacy concerns, but said she was made aware of the situation, which wasn't very great, when she picked him up for fostering. "There was this big fear he wouldn't get better," Klee said. "There were nights when I would just lay awake looking at my ceiling, wondering what the outcome would be." "Before I picked him up, ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) told us this dog was in really bad shape, and they didn't know if he was going to be able to be rehabilitated," Klee said. "We didn't know what his outcome would be. But Muddy Paws Rescue and I decided to pull him anyway, because I feel all dogs deserve the chance to get better, and a lot of dogs can't get better in a shelter environment, because it can be really stressful." Slowly but steadily, things started looking up. "Day by day, he did get better," Klee said. "I kind of just sat back and learned to exist with him. I didn't push him. I let him come out of his shell on his own." It started with Tiki first only putting his paw outside the crate. Then he started drinking water, then eating. "Every day it was something new, until eventually he was crawling into my lap and asking for cuddles," Klee said. "It happened really slowly, but day by day, he got braver and braver." Curious little pup Klee said it took almost 13 days for her to touch Tiki for the first time because of how hesitant he was. But when it finally happened, "it was well worth the wait." After more than a month in Klee's care, Tiki is now also getting warmed up to being around other people and pets. While he isn't entirely comfortable in their presence, like when Klee has people over, he does come outside and hangs out with them, observing everybody. "He is very curious," Klee said. "He met my mom and allowed her to give him kisses and pets. Every single day with every person he meets, he gets a little braver, and he comes out of his shell a little bit more." Tiki's favorite things As Tiki came out of his shell, one of his favorite things to do is sit with dirty laundry. "He's obsessed with our dirty laundry," Klee laughed. "It sounds really funny, but he'll go into the hamper and take out, like a shirt that I wore and cuddle with it, which is just the cutest thing. He also loves our shoes. It's like he loves to cuddle with the things that smell like us. He never destroys them, he just likes to sit with them." As for his favorite snack, "he's obsessed with cheese," mostly cheddar, Klee said. Tiki and Simon Klee may be putting in most of the effort, but Tiki's favorite person in the house is her 6-year-old dog Simon, who she adopted after fostering him when he was just a little puppy. "Simon is the best partner in fostering," Klee gushed. "He is just so patient (and) understanding. He gets it. He understands these dogs need help and teaches them to be a dog again." Klee credited Simon with teaching Tiki how to play with toys and encouraging Tiki to go outside for the first time. "Having a confident dog in the house is just like the best possible thing when you're fostering a fearful dog," Klee shared. Isabel and Simon have fostered 20 dogs together Klee and Simon have fostered 20 dogs together, though Klee has been fostering dogs for much longer. The content creator shared she's been fostering dogs since she was 25 but took a long break when she adopted Simon after fostering him. "Simon has a lot of complicated health issues so I stopped fostering for a number of years, and then picked it back up about two years ago," Klee said, adding the two have now fostered 20 dogs together. Depending on the dog's need, fosters have been as short as a few days and as long as two months. "It's been a lot, (but) I find it so rewarding," Klee said. "Of course, there are difficult moments, but I think the joyful moments far outweigh it." She added: "Tiki is such a great example. Four weeks (in) and he's a completely different dog. Just being that vessel for change and seeing them grow over a short amount of time is the most magical thing." Tips for fostering For anyone looking into fostering dogs, Klee's word of advice would be to have patience. "Patience is the most important thing," Klee, who is also in process of writing a book on fostering, said. "Whether that's being frustrated that the dog is peeing inside, or that they're barking at you or, whatever it may be. Just come at it with patience and the understanding that this dog is in a brand-new space, and (that) it's scary and terrifying (for them)." Tiki is not going to be with Klee much longer, given the overwhelming response received on his adoption application. However, an adoption doesn't mean their relationship would come to an end. Klee shared she always exchanges information with any family that adopts the dogs she has fostered, and "most of them still keep in touch" with her. "I get pictures all the time," Klee said, adding it is up to the adopter on whether they want to keep a relationship with her. "Luckily most people find the dogs through my page, so they usually do want to keep in touch. I'm very happy about that." Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
One of Napa Valley's oldest winemaking families debuts a major tasting room transformation
It's a story made for Hallmark Channel: Tired of the hustle in Hollywood, a screenwriter returns to his sleepy hometown, realizes the story of his career was right in front of him all along and decides to tell it through the revitalization of his family's historic wine business. It sounds scripted, but that's exactly what Greg Pestoni has spent the past decade doing. Now, the transformation of St. Helena's charming Pestoni Family Estate Winery is ready for its premiere. Pestoni credits famed director and winery owner Francis Ford Coppola for inspiring his move from his native Napa Valley to Hollywood after high school in the 1980s. Since the third grade, he was friends with Coppola's son, Roman, and recalls watching rough cuts of 'Apocalypse Now' on a Betamax before it was released. Napa was a quiet agricultural valley, and he was anxious to get out. 'You didn't idolize (your friends) who worked in the vineyard,' said Pestoni.'It was as sexy as picking walnuts.' But after 27 years in the film industry and two discouraging Guild strikes, the screenwriter, who worked on 'The Godfather' movies, returned to a very different Napa Valley, one that felt a lot more like Hollywood than when he left it. There, he found a story he desperately wanted to tell: His family's 130-year-old wine journey. 'This was an unsung period of winemaking,' Pestoni said. 'When you think of the 1890s and the bunch that was making wine, who is still here doing it? Just a few.' In the 1880s, the Swiss-Italian Pestonis arrived in Napa Valley. In 1892, Greg Pestoni's great-grandfather, Albino Pestoni, planted vineyards and built a winery in the Eastern hills on Howell Mountain. The winery shut down due to Prohibition and was sold in the early 1920s; a few years later, Greg Pestoni's grandfather, Henry Pestoni, purchased a property on Whitehall Lane in the Rutherford wine region, now the home of Pestoni's Sauvignon Blanc vineyard. Like many wine families, the Pestonis picked up other agricultural pursuits during Prohibition. Over the years, the family raised chickens, hogs and dairy cows, but it also grew grapes and made bootleg brandy. Henry Pestoni allegedly sold his brandy to staff at the Napa County courthouse and, in return, they'd tip him off about upcoming federal raids. Greg Pestoni's uncles also owned a Napa Valley winery and bootlegged alcohol; the original stone building is now the home of Ehlers Estate. In the early 1960s, Greg Pestoni's father, composting pioneer Bob Pestoni, founded the Upper Valley Disposal Service, revolutionizing winery waste recycling. He went on to own a second operation, the Clover Flat Landfill just south of Calistoga. (The family sold both companies in 2023; last month, federal prosecutors closed an investigation into environmental crimes and obstruction of justice related to both properties, now owned by a company called Waste Connections.) The family went decades without commercially producing wine, but they continued to grow and sell grapes. Then, in 1994, the winery next door came up for sale. Bob Pestoni bought it, and Greg Pestoni's brother, Andy Pestoni, became the winemaker. They named the winery Rutherford Grove after a eucalyptus grove on the property, but it created confusion with two other local businesses, the Rutherford Grill restaurant and Rutherford Hill Winery. 'Someone would ask if we served the duck burger,' joked Greg Pestoni, adding that he felt the name 'sounded like a big operation,' when the winery only makes a few thousand cases of wine a year. Shortly after Greg Pestoni returned home in 2014, he convinced his father to change the name to Pestoni Family Estate Winery. He called relatives to compile old family photos and wrote up the family's history for the website. 'It helped make it a much more personal experience,' Greg Pestoni said. 'I think what's really missing in Napa these days is the people behind something and the story behind something.' The winery has been one of the last remaining embodiments of a down-home era in Napa Valley, before luxury resorts, Michelin-starred restaurants and multi-million-dollar tasting rooms, like its flashy new neighbor, Bella Union. 'You get the feeling of going to somebody's house or being in somebody's yard,' said Greg Pestoni. 'People would say, 'You're like a Sonoma winery in Napa.' They don't want the secret to get out of this place, they don't want to tell anybody.' But remaining a secret isn't good for business, especially during a global downturn in wine sales. Despite Pestoni's prime positioning off Napa Valley's busy Highway 29, the winery has remained under the radar, and like many of the region's older wineries, the family decided to renovate. 'We're in Napa,' Greg Pestoni said. 'We needed to step up.' They started with the large, grassy picnic area surrounded by eucalyptus and redwood trees, which became a COVID-19 pandemic hot spot. 'Saturdays and Sundays were bananas. We were serving on picnic tables and our staff were crossing the lawn in 100-degree heat,' recalled Aimee Pestoni, Greg Pestoni's wife. 'People wanted to be outside, and they still do.' Pestoni kept its picnic lawn — one of the few kid-friendly spots in Napa Valley — but built a new pavilion for more formal tastings. The striking cedar pavilion, featuring a bar, tables and heaters, was designed by the same architect behind San Francisco's Rolex boutiques. Yet a much more significant transformation took place inside the 1995 tasting room. 'There were no seats, you'd slam (the wine) down and go on your way,' said Aimee Pestoni. While the lawn maintains Pestoni's classic, old Napa feel, the new tasting room interior catapults visitors to the present: It's moody, sophisticated and edgy, designed like a cozy study found within a luxurious mountain escape. The space features dark wood, a stone fireplace, velvet bar stools and leather armchairs with fur throws. Geometric fur rugs look like tile from a distance, while custom wallpaper features layers of burlap, hand-painted and then fringed, by an Alaskan artist. The change is a jarring departure from the family's humble roots, but upon closer observation, visitors will find ties to the Pestoni story in every nook and cranny. There's a wall of black and white family photos, including a 1919 capture of Henry Pestoni at his coming home party from World War I, taken at the William Tell Hotel in St. Helena. Historic documents sit underneath the glass top of a coffee table, including the assessment taxes for the original 1892 winery ($2 for four gallons of wine) and a corn sales ledger. A bookshelf displays an antique winemaking tool and remnants of a wooden backpack, which Albino Pestoni made and used while herding in the Swiss Alps in the 1870s. Noted Napa Valley designer Erin Martin also incorporated eclectic homages to the family's history, like an ornate, hand-carved cuckoo clock that nods to their Swiss-Italian heritage. The centerpiece is a massive chandelier constructed from a round, wooden form, which was used to make wine casks in the 19th century. A black crow sculpture sits on the chandelier, a quirky tribute to Joe, Greg Pestoni's pet crow that the family rescued and fed when he was growing up. Andy Pestoni recently retired, so his brother hired renowned consulting winemaker Aaron Pott to help craft the wines, which include classic Napa grapes like Petite Sirah, Sangiovese and Barbera. Fancier tasting experiences ($50-$125) launched with the renovation, but the winery can still accommodate walk-ins and kids. Those looking for something casual can opt for a self-guided tasting at a picnic table ($45) and bring their own provisions, which most Napa Valley wineries don't allow. 'We want to keep that vibe,' said Aimee Pestoni.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I Don't Understand You': Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells movie inspired by adoption fraud story from filmmakers
While Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells voice some pretty hysterical characters in Big Mouth, they're now sharing the screen in the horror-comedy I Don't Understand You (now in theatres). Written and directed by married filmmakers David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano, the movie had a particularly interesting starting point. In I Don't Understand You Kroll and Rannells play a couple, Dom and Cole, who have just fallen victim to adoption fraud, but things are looking up. A pregnant woman named Candace (Amanda Seyfried) thinks they're the right fit for the family to adopt her child. But just before that happens, Dom and Cole take a romantic Italian vacation. Things take a turn when they get lost outside of Rome, trying to find a restaurant. As their stranded in an unknown location, the trip turns to bloody Italian chaos. As Craig and Crano identified, the first portion of the movie, up until the couple gets stuck going to the restaurant, is quite close to the real experience the filmmakers had. "We were adopting a child. We had been through an adoption scam, which was heartbreaking, and then had a completely different experience when we matched with the birth mother of our son," Crano told Yahoo. "But we found out that we were going to have him literally like two days before we were going on our 10th anniversary trip." "And we were like, 'Shit, should we not go?' But we decided to do it, and you're so emotionally opened up and vulnerable in that moment that it felt like a very similar experience to being in a horror movie, even though it's a joyful kind of situation." A key element of I Don't Understand You is that feeling of shock once the story turns from a romance-comedy to something much bloodier. It feels abrupt, but it's that jolt of the contrast that also makes that moment feel particularly impactful to watch. "Our sense of filmmaking is so ... based on surprise," Craig said. "As a cinephile, my main decade to go to are outlandish '90s movies, because they just take you to a different space, and as long as you have a reality to the characters that are already at hand, you can kind of take them wherever." "Personally, the situation of adoption was a constant jolt [from] one emotion to another that we felt like that was the right way to tell a story like this, which was literally, fall in love with a couple and then send them into a complete nightmare. And I think you can only get that if you do it abruptly, and kind of manically." While Rannells and Kroll have that funny and sweet chemistry the story needs, these were roles that weren't written for them. But it works because Crano and Craig know how to write in each other's voices so well, that's where a lot of the dialogue is pulled from. Additionally, the filmmakers had the "creative trust" in each other to pitch any idea, as random as it may have seemed, to see if it could work for the film. "When you're with somebody you've lived with for 15 years, there is very little that I can do that would embarrass me in front of David," Crano said. "So that level of creative freedom is very generative." "We were able to screw up in front of each other a lot without it affecting the rest of our day," Craig added. Of course, with the language barrier between the filmmakers and the Italian cast, it was a real collaboration to help make the script feel authentic for those characters. "All of the Italian actors and crew were very helpful in terms of being like, 'Well I feel like my character is from the south and wouldn't say it in this way.' And helped us build the language," Crano said. "And it was just a very trusting process, because neither of us are fluent enough to have that kind of dialectical specificity that you would in English." "It was super cool to just be watching an actor perform a scene that you've written in English that has been translated a couple of times, but you still completely understand it, just by the generosity of their performance." For Craig, he has an extensive resume of acting roles, including projects like Boy Erased and episodes of Dropout. Among the esteemed alumni of the Upright Citizens Brigade, he had a writing "itch" for a long time, and was "in awe" of Crano's work as a director. "Truthfully, in a weird way, it felt like such a far off, distant job, because everything felt really difficult, and I think with this project it just made me understand that it was just something I truly love and truly wanted to do," Craig said. "I love the idea of creative control and being in a really collaborative situation. Acting allows you to do that momentarily, but I think like every other job that you can do on a film is much longer lasting, and I think that's something I was truly seeking." For Crano, he also grew up as a theatre kid, moving on to writing plays in college. "The first time I got laughs for jokes I was like, 'Oh, this is it. Let's figure out how to do this,'" he said. "I was playwriting in London, my mom got sick in the States, so I came back, and I started writing a movie, because I was living in [Los Angeles] and I thought, well there are no playwrights in L.A., I better write a movie.'" That's when Crano found a mentor in Peter Friedlander, who's currently the head of scripted series, U.S. and Canada, at Netflix. "I had written this feature and ... we met with a bunch of directors, great directors, directors I truly admire, and they would be like, 'It should be like this.' And I'd be like, 'Yeah, that's fine, but maybe it's more like this.' And after about five of those Peter was like, 'You're going to direct it. We'll make some shorts. We'll see if you can do it.' He just sort of saw it," Crano recalled. "It's nice to be seen in any capacity for your ability, but [I started to realize] this is not so different from writing, it's just sort of writing and physical space and storytelling, and I love to do it. ... It is a very difficult job, because it requires so much money to test the theory, to even see if you can." But being able to work together on I Don't Understand You, the couple were able to learn things about and from each other through the filmmaking process. "David is lovely to everyone," Crano said. "He is much nicer than I am at a sort of base level, and makes everyone feel that they can perform at the best of their ability. And that's a really good lesson." "Brian literally doesn't take anything personally," Craig added. "Almost to a fault." "And it's very helpful in an environment where you're getting a lot of no's, to have a partner who's literally like, 'Oh, it's just no for now. Great, let's move on. Let's find somebody who's going to say yes, maybe we'll come back to that no later.' I'm the pessimist who's sitting in the corner going, 'Somebody just rejected me, I don't know what to do.' ... It just makes you move, and that's that's very helpful for me."
