Catarina Mina + Olê Rendeiras Project

Catarina Mina created the Olê Rendeiras project to highlight Ceará’s (a state in northeastern Brazil,) bobbin lace (a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the pillow).

The crochet accessories brand believes in a fashion model that is focused on those who manufacture it, fashion that sustains itself in a future of collaboration, valuing the people who think, create and sew the web and history of the Ceará brand.

In 2019, QAIR, an independent energy producer company, lands on the west coast of Ceará, and determined to socially impact the region, invites Catarina Mina to create a project with the Trairi -a municipality in the state of Ceará- women.

The folks in that region have one of the most valuable handicrafts technique knowledge in Brazil: how to make bobbin lace textiles. Along with the brand’s teams, more than 100 lacemakers have worked during the past few months to develop a collection, a social delivery of the company QAIR to the region of Ceará.

After many days of work, the group did not generate the minimum wage necessary. Low sales prices, an excessive number of middlemen and similar products in many groups make sales difficult. A challenging task is suggested by the Catarina Mina Workshops method: how to learn and build with the groups, to strengthen crafts and give longevity to typologies.

Altogether there are more than 5k lace makers in the Trairi region. From the bilreiro seed- a tree in the region- the finishing of the needles is prepared, made from cardeiro (a cactus from southern South America) spines. On a pillow, many mothers and grandmothers raised their families and taught their children how to do lace, who grew up already trying on the bobbin lace and soon became also lace artisans, strengthening the tradition.

The repercussion of the collection was positive with the tailor-made launch, despite being a challenging way, a paradigm shift in the consuming way. The action was an invitation to the consumer to rethink conscious consumption and, thus, make the work of the lace makers feasible.

The Olê Rendeiras project plans, in 2021, to establish an association and organization of the 14 communities located in the region. The project aims to form a productive group, valuing bobbin lace textiles and community work.

Some pieces have already been sent to international partners in anticipation of the project being exported in future actions.