Designer Spotlight: Alberto Piaserico MISIS SRL
- May 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 27
Background & Family
Tell us a little about yourself and your family.
I have two children — one is 13 and the other is only 3 years old. So I still have a lot of time to shape their future! My parents started this business when I was 5 years old. We didn't have money to hire workers back then, so in the evenings, when they brought work home, I would sit with them — watching TV and helping fix things, making small pieces. I was always involved, always living the product.
Coming Into the Business
You grew up in the business. Were you drawn to it, or did your parents invite you in?
It wasn't a simple decision. When I finished my studies, I actually had another passion — food — so I went to work in a supermarket and eventually became a purchasing manager. But when you grow up in a family company, you feel it differently. It felt like a shame to let all that work disappear.
The timing was difficult. Competition from China had become very serious, and the company faced a choice: close, or fight back. I decided to come in. At the same time, my parents stepped away entirely — my father about 15 years ago, my mother about 10. They have their own lives now. My father loves diving — he's 82 and they still try to hold him back! They play tennis and golf. No jewelry. No problems.
The Creative Turning Point
Your parents' designs were more classical. How did you develop such a distinctive new direction?
The pressure from China forced me to think differently. I knew I needed to create something you could recognize anywhere in the world — something with a clear identity. So I started drawing from my own life and passions.
I love fishing and the sea, so the first pieces I designed came from that coastal lifestyle. Then travel became a huge source of inspiration. I was very lucky to grow up here, because when you appreciate the architecture and design around you every day — the buildings, the shapes — you absorb it and can translate it into your work. I also find inspiration in stones. When I travel and find a particular stone I love, I start imagining in my mind how it could combine with a collection. That's how the creative process begins.
Now we have a defined direction — our four-element design line — but at the beginning, everything came from travel and patience.
The Creative Process
When during the day do you do your best creative thinking?
For me, it's at the end of the day — and I'll tell you why. We're not a big company, so in the morning I need to plan the day's production and organize the team. Throughout the day there are always problems to solve — from production, from the commercial side, from everywhere. But around 4 PM, everyone starts thinking about going home, and that's when I can start thinking about the future.
I stay in my office, start sketching, check my stone inventory, and when an idea comes, I talk to my colleague who is an expert in enamel — to see if it's possible, which color combinations might work. Then we make a card, build a model, and begin adjusting until we have a sample. Travel also gives me that same mental freedom — when you're flying, your mind is completely open.
Balancing Art & Commerce
There's a saying — "the struggling artist." You've clearly made the leap to commercial success. How?
I always listened. I go to market with my agents, and I am very open to hearing what the market wants. I'm not the kind of designer who creates something and insists the world must accept it as it is. When I'm designing a product, I calculate the cost immediately — even as I'm creating it. I need to know: Can I find this stone consistently? Is the enamel process reliable? Will the colors hold? What is the price point for distribution?
You have to consider everything — product, price, distribution — all at once. Of course, I want to create what I love. But above all, I need to create what I can sell.
I also have a wonderful team — mostly women — and I always ask them to try pieces on. The most important challenge we face is wearability. I need feedback from people of different ages who will actually wear the jewelry. My enamel specialist, Sofia for the commercial side — together, we arrive at the final product. It truly is a team effort.
Filling a Gap in the Market
Where do you see Missus in the next 5–10 years?
I see an empty space in the market right now, and I believe this is our moment. In the price range of $300 to $1,000, there is a lot of room for us. Gold in that range is no longer accessible to many people, but more importantly, what we offer isn't about the material — it's about what the piece does for you when you wear it.
Our customers in Italy typically wear very simple clothing, and then put on one of our pieces, and it transforms the entire outfit. That perceived value — the feeling of wearing something precious and handcrafted — that's what we want to communicate to the world.
The category is difficult to name. It's not costume jewelry. It's not high-end fine jewelry. It lives somewhere between fashion and artisan jewelry. But I think that space is exactly where we belong, and I want to be present in more countries in the coming years.
Italian Heritage & Inspiration
How does your Italian heritage influence your work?
Enormously. Every 20 kilometers in Italy, you have a different city — different architecture, different food, different culture. I live 30 kilometers from Venice and go there perhaps 20 times a year. The variety is extraordinary.
In Italian schools, we study Latin, ancient history, philosophy. At the time you think you don't need it. But as you grow older, you understand the meaning of it all — and it shapes the way you see beauty and design. When you grow up surrounded by different art every single day, it opens your mind in ways you don't fully realize until much later.
And practically speaking, everything is so close here. If tomorrow I need a complete look — jewelry, leather goods, textiles — I can find the best craftspeople within 5 kilometers. That kind of creative ecosystem doesn't exist everywhere.
Interview conducted as part of our Designer Spotlight series. Responses have been edited for clarity and length.