I chatted with Clementina Calleri, the talented mind behind The Palmist Club and had the pleasure of learning more about her beautiful story, slow living and the process of her creations. Please enjoy our conversation.
What does Slow Living mean to you?
Quality. Anything that was made with the right manufacturing time is made with attention to detail; think about the pieces you buy, choose handmade over mass-made, choose small quantities over mass-production. Give the tiny artisan or local farm a chance to surprise you with simple yet real good things.
What do Palm Trees symbolize for you?
An obsession first of all, I just love their multiple shapes and colors. They are my inspiration and my favorite embroidery always! (Even after 3 years!)
Where is your favorite place to travel to?
Unknown places. Tiny far away villages, possibly with local markets!
How did the name The Palmist Club come about? What is your intention behind the word “club”?
The palmist comes from my dear palm trees, it also comes from the act of reading hands, which I discovered in a trip to India a few years ago. I wanted to create a brand that celebrates objects for the home made with good intentions. The Club comes from my desire to include craftsmen and women in my community, from whom I acquire all my techniques and knowledge.
In my opinion, the best memories are made around the table. What does gathering around the table mean to you?
I absolutely agree with you! Tables, and especially kitchen tables are a wonderful invention for the people to reunite and celebrate, have a moment to gather and discuss important things. With these intentions, I have created my table setting collections made with antique linens and linen threads.
Where do you go when you want to escape & reset?
If I can, I choose the sea. If I’m in the city, the Sunday market always works its magic. Somehow my creative senses come back to me and so many ideas invade my mind!
You mentioned you source all your vintage linens at the local market. What is this process like?
Following up my last response, I go to markets to find inspiration, to reset my energy. Depending on which market I go to, I have my suppliers who became friends to me, so I always hope I’ll find the right types of linens. Sometimes I request a particular color, like in the case of our collaboration! It can take weeks before I find what I am looking for, but the process is organic and almost meditative to me.
I can only imagine how rewarding it is once you finish a piece, as you hand stitch each one, with zero waste production. How is the stitching process? Have you always been patient? Or is this something you’ve trained yourself in over time?
It is not about patience for me, it is about meditation. When I embroider my mind travels, while my hands create special things. I never draw what I’ll embroider, I prefer to go with the flow and start over if the result isn’t what I wanted. Using upcycled natural materials makes it more interesting to me as I need to be very inventive not to always produce the same things over and over again.
How do you start your day?
Opening all the windows of the house! Then, usually by setting up my desk and making a plan on the list of things I have to do.
Do you have a favorite ritual?
Taking out all my “stock” (which isn’t much usually) and looking at what I have created and then looking at the piles of linens I have and deciding what to do next!
What brings you joy?
The sunshine, real good food, antique markets, travelling, unpacking at home after a trip, my projects!
Where is home to you?
Impossible to answer! I feel at home in so many places, yet I haven’t found my home. I will build it someday!
What is your favorite thing to cook? To drink?
Pasta with zucchini and lemon, it’s called “alla Nerano”.
Drink: Bloody Mary, the real one!
What is your favorite restaurant in Rome?
Da Settimio al Pellegrino
What’s your secret to feeling your vibrant, healthiest self?
Creating new routines every once in a while, I never buy the same products once I finish them! I love to discover new organic brands and give their products a try.
What is your favorite scent? Where does it take you?
Frangipani flower, it takes me back to Kenya!
What is your most loved object in your home?
Hard one! Maybe a very small vase I bought in an antique shop on the road between Tunis and Hammamet.
What’s your favorite place on Earth?
Che Shale, in Kenya
What’s your favorite color? How does it make you feel?
Provençal green. It gives me peace.
Last of all, how do you see The Palmist Club expanding & evolving in the future? What are you most looking forward to? Is there anything we should keep an eye out for?
I would love to keep collaborating with talented people, designers, or artisans, creating special pieces, only available at that time and moment. I think uniqueness is so fundamental right now. Since being unable to travel as much as before in the last two years, I am launching a collection of Cushions inspired by my time in Lamu, a place so dear to my heart, so special to many people, somewhere I connect with nature and colours!
Look out for the launch early December!
Shop Our Collection:
Palm Napkin Set + Tropical Table Set