In this series, we explore the Creative Duos living and working in Lisbon. Focusing on handcraft in its different forms, we hear from designers about collaborating in creative process and what sets Lisbon design scene apart. Our friends at Morgado do Quintão, natural wine producers from Algrave shared with us their bottles of wine for the conversation.
We talked to Lucrezia and Iany the duo behind Macheia, about their choice to honor ancestral design techniques such as Bunho, after many field trips to Santarem to study with the last remaining Bunho masters.
Let’s begin with your design specialism - what has drawn you to Bunho?
Iany:
When we first approached Bunho master Manuel Ferreira and this technique, we found out that there were very few people actually working on it - two, three artisans. And it felt like a case study for a lot of other techniques in crafts. We're facing this endangerment of techniques, they're dying out and there's not really textbooks to keep them alive.
There are no manuals or places where you can share this know-how. So it's very much something that you learn from your father, from your master, and it's a very shared knowledge and intangible way of perceiving the world, I would say. And it's something that we take very much to our project to share it and to spread this know-how. And always underlining this idea that it's not just a piece but it has a whole ecosystem behind it, I guess.
"You start to see plants as actual resources. You look around your environment, and see there are resources, materials that with the right know-how and technique you can transform into something else."
Can you talk us through the process of bunho and this ecosystem?
Iany:
We started by paying visits to the artisan (Manuel Ferreira) and learning everything that he was doing; with the material, the technique. From there we dived more into the ecosystem behind it - which means harvesting and a world in itself, happening only in July and August. You harvest the material, then it has to dry in an open land with a lot of sun for two weeks. One week passes, you need to flip the material and then it dries for another week.
It was fascinating understanding what it's like to have raw material and to start designing from the field. You start to see plants as actual resources. You look around in your environment, and it's not just greens that surround you, there are resources, materials that with the right know-how and technique you can transform into something else. And also the realization of the amount of knowledge that the artisans carry, which is the most valuable thing.
What is the story behind your name ‘Macheia’?
Lucrezia:
It is actually Portuguese for a handful. So it's a measurement of quantity that is from the feeling in your hand, basically. And this is something that when we started to work with the artisan, he would tell us “okay, sit down, take a macheia of buñol and start to work.” We thought okay, actually it makes sense as a name. It makes this connection of the hands. My handful is different than her handful, or of the artisans' handful. And this is what craft is really about and this is how you create unique pieces by just having different hands.
"the way we approach our design process is to re-propose those techniques of the past, to re-think them in new forms, that they can also speak another language."
Can you talk us through your creative process?
Lucrezia:
An important part of our practice and the way we approach our design process is to re-propose those techniques of the past, to re-think them in new forms, that they can also speak another language. Exploring the idea of how we can break out of this traditional shape and create other objects, other forms.
The other important element is the storytelling, really getting into the story of a technique. With the Bulrush collection, we put an emphasis on the hole, which is actually the starting point of every piece of this technique. It starts from here, which is basically the hand of the artist. We decided to emphasize it by combining metal with this natural fiber.. An intentional choice for breaking outside of this idea of ‘fragile’ natural fibers. Giving a chance for a different perspective, with a bolder attitude or character.
"Portugal has a unique setting in a sense of connection with craft and we collectively embrace that and showcase this particularity of design - that is very specific to Lisbon and to Portugal."
What do you enjoy about working in collaboration?
Iany:
We come from very different backgrounds - I'm from Mozambique, Lucrezia is from Italy and also our academic background - she's a product designer, I studied architecture. So to join these worlds together and see the baggage that we bring and the fact that both our countries are very craft-based and they have a lot of richness in that field. It's also very insightful when it comes to designing and bringing up concepts and everything else.
Lucrezia:
For me, probably the concept - brainstorming around the ideas and deciding which story to tell and in which form to portray it. And I like to work in a duo also to challenge my own idea. Like maybe I'm very convinced about something and then there are also certain moments where I have to defend my point of view. Maybe also going back and rethinking about it… So it's a little dance that sometimes can be tricky but at the end it's satisfying to exchange ideas throughout the process.
What is exciting to you right now about Lisbon Design Week?
Iany:
Portugal has a unique setting in a sense of connection with craft and we collectively embrace that and showcase this particularity of design - that is very specific to Lisbon and to Portugal. Looking at the other design weeks, this is what sets us apart I would say.
The craft aspect gives it a strong identity maybe compared to other international design weeks which are undoubtedly amazing, but also you tend to lose the grasp of what are we actually doing? What are we standing for, are we really looking towards a sustainable future? Or is it just consumer driven? So for now maybe Lisbon Design Week is an emerging one but I think a very powerful one.
Lucrezia:
Yes, the design scene here is so connected with the local resources and techniques. Design and craft is very blurred here. It's a great opportunity to create this new lane and shift for the sector of crafts that is not separated but actually merged together with design. Which hopefully also can answer a bit the question of who's going to be or what it’s going to look like the artisan of the future.
Thank you to Lucrezia and Iany for the time and wonderful conversation, and our friends and supporters at Morgado do Quintão for the wine shared.
Morgado do Quintão was conceived and nurtured by lovers of the creative arts, with a deep belief that engaging with the arts offers one of the most profound and satisfying experience. Their commitment to artistic creation spans across all disciplines, notably working with artists to illustrate their labels and placing art residencies at their quinta in the Algarve, recognizing their power to challenge, inspire, and transform. By intertwining work in the vineyard with the dynamic rhythms of the art world, Morgado do Quintão is a place where art and nature converge, inviting all who enter to partake in the timeless dialogue between the earth and the imagination.
Visit their site to explore more.
