Sandro Vacchetti Biography
Sandro (Alessandro) Vacchetti was born in Carrù, in the province of Cuneo in 1889. Painter, sculptor, ceramist and designer, he left the town in 1905 and joined his brothers Emilio and Pippo in Turin where he began working on advertising posters. In 1914 he emigrated to the United States, where he had his first contact with ceramics, staying in Boston and New York. In 1919, having returned to Turin, he began to collaborate, as artistic director, with the "Lenci" toy factory for which he designed numerous and interesting dolls, made of felt, which soon made the factory famous throughout the world. In 1920 he was appointed artistic director of the company. In the same year he began to participate in the exhibitions organized by the Turin Promoter of Fine Arts. In 1928, when "Lenci" began its ceramic activity, it was with Gigi Chessa and Giovanni Riva, the backbone of the manufacturing. In 1934 he left the artistic direction of "Lenci", now dying, and opened in Turin, in partnership with the Turin ceramist Nello Franchini, the "Essevi" factory, which takes its name from his initials, continuing a production similar to that carried out at "Lenci." Between 1942 and 1945 Vacchetti moved to Carrù, in the province of Cuneo, where, even if only sporadically, he continued to make ceramics. In 1952 Sandro Vacchetti ceased his craft activity and, having closed the ceramic factory, he returned to dedicating himself exclusively to painting for a few years. In 1962 he moved to Rome for a few years where he opened a ceramic laboratory called "Crea". He died in Turin in 1976.
