I came across this little project a while ago and have was chasing to do a meet the artist about there project so let me say if you like really Italian pizza well these two guys bring it and bring it in such a brilliant way but before I say anymore Il let the creators Edo and Gianlu explain all .
Let me lead with Ciao how you guys doing today ?
Edo : Thanks for finding some time to chat with us! It's weekend, so it's a good time 😄 Sunny day as well, which is kinda unusual lately 😅 .
Gianlu: Where are you to say that it's a sunny day? 😱
I know winter is just around the corner and not to bad . What's the plans for today?
Gianlu: Nothing too special really, we're discussing some details for Christmas season, we'll have to decide some dynamics .
Edo: Will spend some time in our room with the community and discuss some things with Gianlu later this afternoon. Then some free time tonight with friends.
So is there something specials planned ?
Gianlu: Our plans always include bringing up our Italian side, so we're thinking about a way to implement a very Italian tradition in our future drop. Actually two Italian traditions of we want to include the war between two specific baked goods .
Edo: Specifically, when Christmas comes, there's two factions when talking about desserts 😂
Gianlu: You have to choose what's side you're on.
Oh do tell ?
Edo: There's two baked goods which are the most traditional: Panettone and Pandoro.. every year there's this never-ending "fight" between fans over which one is the best .
Gianlu: It'll be similar to the trick or treat drop we did for Halloween, but we're still think about the dynamic .
Edo: One thing we can promise though.. Pizzeria Rusticana have a great version of both; so fans won't be disappointed .
Brilliant so how did this all start ?
Edo: Basically both of us were hanging in Telegram while discovering WAX. Not many Italians around, so we started chatting a bit about the space, the projects and so on. Gianlu came up with the idea of having a collection where we could express Italian's love for pizza, using also the blending side to bring creativity on board too .
How did you discover NFT ?
Edo: Personally, I've been interested in crypto since the 2017 bull run; kept hearing about these NFTs and how they were the next big thing.. so I took a dive to see which platforms could have them, did a bit of a research and found WAX which I thought was a great entry point into the space .
Gianlu: I've heard about NFTs because I follow Beeple's work since forever as well as a bunch of other artists. But I didn't had a clue about what those were. Back in April I was attracted to WAX thanks to Alien Worlds (as many others were at the time). Then I discovered all the telegram's rooms that were starting they're collection and the first bots and I got hooked.
Edo: Started as user on AlienWorlds, like many others, and then exploring more and more of the collections around .
Oh wow so you both been around crypto or big NFT artist for a while and why did you go with WAX blockchain for your project ?
Edo: The main reason was the community-side. WAX is where we connected and it felt the right choice to stay in a space that we knew and appreciate .
Gianlu: Yeah I agree, the WAX community is simply amazing .
Do you both create the art for the project?
Edo: For the sake of our fans, that's left to Gianlu 😂 He's the one in charge for the art .
Gianlu: We make a great team because we do have our own duties. I take care of the art and Edo's taking care of every technical aspect, like writing the bot that runs in the Pizzeria, actually making the drops, the blends. The thing we do is to throw in ideas or concepts that we like and then each one of us will try to make them happen.
Its a great combo . When did the project launch ?
Edo: We got whitelisted back in July, threw an inauguration party for the occasion.. but the collection has been around since mid June
What was the first NFT you dropped ?
Gianlu: Probably the inauguration menu?
Edo: Yup, first release was the inauguration menu, together with the 4 Classic pizzas and the ingredients needed to blend them.
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/209664
Gianlu: Oops, nope it was probably the dough 😅 but it wasn't a real proper drop
Edo: Well, it was a "group drop" so technically the menu isn't the first template in the collection.. but that's where we started 😁
Ha ha love the menu and how did the community react ?
Edo: We had some great support from them, they loved the idea and pushed us to go ahead with the project! Also, it was around the time of the European football championship (which was won by Italy 😎) so we ran some related contests to engage with our community and have them win some of our NFTs .
I remember was so glad Italy won .
Edo: Yeah, there were some mad celebrations at the time ahaha then went back to work and prepared the second release which gave more variety to our menu .
How many NFTs has there been now ?
Edo: Here is are menu .
Classics:
la Margherita (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/172807) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella)
la Olive (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/172843) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Black Olives)
la Piccante (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/172827) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Spicy Salami)
la Prosciutto (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/blenderizer/236501) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Ham)
la Funghi (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285522) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Mushrooms)
la Stadio (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285524) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Sausage, Bell Peppers)
la Mari e Monti (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285525) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Shrimps, Mushrooms)
la Giovane (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285526) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Ham, Scamorza, Black Olives)
la Vegetariana (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285529) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Onion)
la Bastarda (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285531) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Sausage, Spicy Salami, Black Olives)
la Zingara (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285533) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Sausage, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Black Olives)
la Ventosa (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285538) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Bell Peppers, Onion)
la Boscaiola (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285542) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Scamorza, Mushrooms, Black Olives)
la Capricciosa (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/blenderizer/285549) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Ham, Mushrooms, Black Olives)
la Salsiccia (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285577) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Sausage)
l'Ortolana (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285588) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Arugula, Zucchini)
Customs:
la Pepperoni (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285521) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Pepperoni)
la Manola (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/317875) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Shrimps, Arugula, Onion, Black Olives)
la Chorizo (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/334836) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Chorizo, Onion, Black Olives)
💣Extra Menu💣:
la Dorata (https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana/blends/285597) (Dough, Tomato, Mozzarella, Gold Leaf)
la Rusticana (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/285592) ("can you please put everything?")
la Treat (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/340652) (Dough, Pumpkin sauce, Mozzarella, Sausage, Scamorza)
la Trick (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/340654) (The remains of what once was a pizza)
Edo : Release 1:
Dough (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/174545)
Tomato (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/174557)
Mozzarella (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/177557)
Spicy Salami (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/231639)
Ham (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/177554)
Black Olives (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/177574)
Release 2:
Raw Ham (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279549)
Sausage (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279560)
Pepperoni (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279554)
Shrimps (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279552)
Bell Pepper (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279553)
Arugula (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279565)
Zucchini (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279564)
Mushrooms (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279551)
Onion (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279547)
Scamorza (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/279562)
Gold Leaf (https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/therusticana/281866) ✨
So this is the menu and our ingredients for now .
Is all your NFTs made from blending plus I don't see pineapple there lol .
Edo: Ahahah that's a never-ending argument in the room 😂 .
Gianlu: Shhh don't say that word .
Edo: Fun fact.. if you try to type "pineapple pizza" in our room, a bot will reply with a GIF that explains Italian's opinion on it ahahah let me grab it for you 😂
Gianlu: Btw it took a lot of effort to provide a cool amount of choices! For each ingredient you also have to make two version like the ingredient itself and then the ingredient chopped, sliced or whatever that goes on the pizza
Edo:
Gianlu: That's the right prize for someone asking about p*******e pizza in our room .
Oh I love it that gif so you don't think pineapple belongs on pizza lol . What has been your favorite pizza to create ?
Edo: I really liked the custom ones that were proposed during our contest.. couldn't resist blending for those! If I have to choose between the classics, my choice would go to "la Piccante" .
Gianlu: Hard choice 😅 the chorizo has been the last one and I loved drawing it.
Is Christmas going to be the next drop ?
Edo: We'll release something for Christmas for sure, but the goal is to have some sort of event.. we're always trying to bring some fun too .
Gianlu: Yep, we always try to blend things together, like having contests or nice way to engage with the whole Pizzeria . So it's not just like one way project .
How do you create your NFTs ?
Gianlu: It's like a mixture of drawing techniques I learned while drawing all the other ingredients, so I think it's the one that until now includes all the other ingredients in a way . We came up with ideas and combinations of what ingredients would be cool to add to the collection, plus we had some ingredients and pizzas suggested by the Pizzeria community so all the ideas start from there . The drawing process itself is nothing too complicated since if you have to draw an onion you have to draw an onion, you can't go out of track. But I like to always have a new perspective, or try a new drawing technique that will make the ingredient unique even it it's just an onion or a bell pepper
What programs you use for creating ?
Gianlu: Illustrator is surely the one I work on the most, but I like to use affinity photo for sketches and I some cases like the Golden Leaf and La Dorata pizza I used DaVince Resolve's Fusion
Has the been any collabs or is there room for collabs on the project ?
Edo: Collabs are definitely possible in the project and we can't wait to bring some news about that in the very near future. As for the past, we already did a collab with two collections (Stocci Studio and Secret Saviour of Underground Hip Hop) for a music NFT - Gianlu is also a composer - with a dope cover both in clear version and a dark-limited one
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/secretsavior/288761
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/secretsavior/288742
Love stocci . Who would be the dream collab ?
Edo: The cool thing about pizza is that you can theme them almost with everything, and with the superblend from Nefty, we could set up ingredients in the collab collection and have them blendable for one of our pizza Dream collab.. that's a hard question ahahah there's really many I'd love to collaborate with but I'll go with my guts, I'm a huge Stocci fan, so I'd totally dig a 🍑 pizza!
Of course . What has been the best part of doing your project ?
Edo: For me, it's been being able to build "our own little space" with our aficionados. The inauguration was probably the moment that i liked the most.. the thrill of launching the project was 💯 .
What's been the hardest part ?
Edo: Cheeky answer but.. none (at least for me). I loved developing the bot so my job was truly a pleasure and not something that caused stress or anything. Whitelisting process was probably the most annoying part though ahahah .
Gianlu: The hard part is making our ideas possible in form of NFTs or activities, things that people would like as much as we do like them . Because everyday we come up with new ideas and cool features but the question is always "will it be possible?" So big part of our work consists in bringing those ideas, cut them into pieces and try to make them fit in the project or in the environment .
Have you guys meet up in really life yet ?
Edo: Not yet, but we live pretty close, so it's just a matter of time. We'll have a drink to the Pizzeria very soon 😄
Has to be over pizza . What is the long term idea for the project ?
Edo: For a starter I think that we'll add more ingredients, to allow great variety and combinations. Then one of the long term idea is to find a way to let users to blend for their fav pizza even if there's not a template ready for it and without having to ask us to create it. Automated template generation - I'd love to see that.
Gianlu: And that's where the hard part is!
Would you like to make this a full time job ?
Edo: I don't see it becoming a full time job yet, but I love spending time working on the collection so I wouldn't turn that down if the conditions arise .
Gianlu: Same for me .
What work do you do outside of NFTs ?
Edo: I work in technology consulting, so always around codes 😂
Gianlu: I'm in the music business working for a publishing house and making music. 😁
Oh cool . What you like to do to unwind ?
Edo: I love watching TV series, or playing some basketball if I have the chance to go out to the playground!
Gianlu: Making music! 😂 Also drawing ingredients for the pizzeria is very relaxing and I enjoy it very much . Besides when Edo keeps making me go back on details 😂😂😂 . Jk, that is a very important step in the process. Having a different pair of eyes look at your stuff and commenting it is very important for me .
Tell us something random about you ?
Gianlu: Is "I fucking love pizza" too on point? 😂
Kind of lol .
Edo: I can't play volleyball anymore cause I keep getting shoulder sprains 😂
Where can the community keep up with your project?
Gianlu: The telegram group is of course the #1 source .
https://t.me/PizzeriaRusticana
We're also on twitter, but we're not that active.
https://twitter.com/PizzeriaRustic1?s=20
A discord channel might be on the way, but that's not a thing atm .
Where can we buy your NFTs ?
Edo: https://neftyblocks.com/c/therusticana
Nefty is the place where we plan our drops and blends. Some NFTs are also obtainable in the chat, by participating in the community
Any chance of a drop or a giveaway for the readers ?
Edo: Sure! We'll send you a couple of packs (we call them 'Groceries bag') to have some of your readers started and ready for some pizza! If it's okay with you, I'll send to your address and you handle the giveaway? 🙂
Of course . So before we finish up is there anything you would like to add or say ti the readers
Edo: Just a simple "we're waiting for you in the Pizzeria! :)" .. would love to see all the tables inside taken 😄 .
Love it .
So guys this will be a competition that will only feature on here I have 2 of the small groceries bags to give away so drop your WAX address below and if you want to learn more about the project drop into there Telegram .
Pizza🍕 5hqgi.wam