A talk about RENDA BRASILEIRA with S.Sassaoka

Marcos Mussi - RENDA BRASILEIRA

A talk to researcher and producer Silvia Sasaoka about lace in Brazil . At that time, June, 2013, there was a exhibit named RENDA BRASILEIRA at SESC/Belenzinho, Curator Renato Imbroisi.

fonte : craftcouncil.org

- Can you tell me a little bit about Brazilian lace? 
Laces are a secular tradition in Brazil that passes from mother to daughter. Learning starts early, between 6 and 12 years old. The girls - and boys, more rarely - learn by observing the everyday work by lace makers in their family and neighborhood. Researchers say that laces arrived in Brazil with European settlers and different techniques for incorporating it came with the different flows. Although the techniques practiced today in Europe stem from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the story of the airy stitches techniques goes back to ancient Eastern cultures. Some researchers identify their origins in the Iberian Peninsula as a legacy of the Moors. Others point to the influence of eastern macramé. And there are those who express their indigenous roots as one of the basic techniques.

There is no doubt that there is a link between laces and the fishing nets, particularly in Brazilian coastal regions, woven mostly by the fishermen’s Marcos Muzi Image Gallery wives. The first laces were introduced by the European techniques in Brazil through the Azores Islands from Portugal.

There are several techniques that have developed, and they basically fall into two major groups: bobbin lace and needle lace, which are subdivided into many variants as Renaissance or needle laces, Irish Laces (a variety of needle laces differing from material), frivolité laces (tatting), nanduti (Tenerife), and filet laces (embroidery on cotton thread of fishermen’s net technique).

- How has this lace tradition moved into current times? 
In ancient times, laces were made of linen and silk yarns, and nowadays cotton thread it is mostly used. Before industrialization, laces represented an investment activity that helped support the family.
But, with the mass production of industrialized laces, the craftsmen lost their space in market. Today in Brazil, lace maker’s daughters and other girls resist doing the most time consuming work by hand, with so many other available jobs. But the story of laces grows in circles, like the stitches in the air. A sudden passion for craftsmanship revitalized the way of doing things by hand, and lace makers regained self-esteem and new professional perspectives. Several Brazilian fashion designers started to include laces as themes for collections: Ronaldo Fraga, Walter Rodrigues, Martha Medeiros, Eduardo Ferreira, and Lino Villaventura, among others.

- Where do you see this craft tradition going in the future? 
This new provision of the so-called consumer market is dramatically affecting and transforming the production of laces. Laces acquire new shapes, colors and functions, and are made with old and new materials. Currently, the lace makers are paying attention to fashion trends, and seek to renew and innovate. And governmental and non-governmental institutions are offering several courses, as part of a broader program of recovery, rebuilding and resignification of Brazilian handicraft.

Marcos Mussi - RENDA BRASILEIRA