“There are a lot of objects in this space and none of them really have their desired function,” says Oscar Piccolo, showing us around the east London flat he shares with his Welsh terrier, Pluto. The Sicilian art director and maker – perhaps best known for his wavy ‘Lampada Cappello’ lamp – has a penchant for peculiar pieces that he finds anywhere and everywhere. His shelves and surfaces, for instance, are stacked with bits of wood he’s picked up in the park, a miniature metal bull and an Inspector Montalbano book gifted by his “nonna”. Each item has a story to tell – and in our latest film, he gives us the low-down on seven of his favourites.

It was 2019 when we first met Oscar. Back then the recent Chelsea College of Arts graduate was living in a pleasing pared-back apartment in south London, with his collection of personality-packed trinkets and treasures. “All my friends make fun of me because I have wooden fruit in my fruit bowl. Why?! To me, they’re beautiful objects,” he told us at the time. He may have migrated across the river but his curious collectables, from a cheese-shaped sculpture to a trio of wooden ashtrays, continue to define the scheme of his home.

Although Oscar was born in Sicily (where he divides his time), he lived in Ghana, Turkey, Egypt and Libya throughout his childhood. The raw materials he grew up around – wood, stone and earth – greatly influenced his taste in interiors. Looking around his flat, for instance, the palette is defined by natural brown tones and industrial metals – something that carries through to his design work too. His nomadic lifestyle also informed his affinity with belongings: “The idea of home became less about a physical place but more about the objects that carried significance and meaning.” As he and his creative mother moved from one place to the next, all the things they would source and make would move with them.

There are, of course, many intriguing objects that fill his flat today – but what did Oscar choose as his top seven? Watch our film now to discover his most treasured possessions and for a nose around the nooks and crannies of his Hackney Wick home. Enjoy – and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode.