Ecoarts in the NY International Gift Fair ECOARTS SHOWS BRAZILIAN HANDMADE PRODUCTS AT NY GIFT FAIR
The company brings the environmentally friendly works of craftsmen to thousands of buyers and holds afternoon sessions with bossa-nova and caipirinha in its showroom
Ecoarts, the American branch of a project that started out in Brazil, takes part in the New York International Gift fair. Together with products from 46 other countries, the works of craftsmen and designers from all over Brazil will be shown at the fair that will take place at the Javits Convention Center from January 30th to February 4th. Ecoarts will also be hosting buyers in its showroom (7 West 34th Street, Suite 725) and promoting a “happy hour” with the finest bossa-nova and Brazilian flavors (see info below).
Specialized in handmade high-quality products that are both sustainable and fair trade, Ecoarts has stood out in the international market thanks to a combined strategy carried out by different parties: craftsmen and designers, Centro Cape and Mãos de Minas (two organizations from Minas Gerais, the third biggest Brazilian state, that are dedicated to supporting the production and logistics processes) and Apex, a Brazilian agency that promotes exports. The project is also supported by Brazilian government and the Government of Minas Gerais.
With such support, the company expects to stand out from the 2,700 exhibitors that participate in this NY Gift Fair edition. The Ecoarts catalogue consists of decoration pieces, utensils and gifts, all of them made of reused, recycled or reduced materials, such as metal, wood, banana fiber, glass, soap-stone, gourd and concrete paper.
“Brazilian handicrafts are on the rise at this moment in time. The products are the result of highly creative minds and incredible materials. We have been able to organize, train and inspire our craftsmen”, explains Tânia Machado, co-founder of Ecoarts and director at Centro Cape, an organization in Minas Gerais, dedicated to foster entrepreneurship.
“We’ve got great expectations with regard to this edition of the Fair. Buyers will be able to see our pieces not only at our stand in the Javits Center but also in our showroom. The showroom will be the location of a very warm welcome we are preparing for our visitors”, says Angela Neves, also co-founder of Ecoarts.
PIECES AND MATERIALS
Ecoarts’ pieces are made by communities from all over Brazil but mainly from Minas Gerais. Environmental sustainability and compromise to the craftsmen and designers are key to the creation of the pieces. However, the transformation that new or reused materials go through on their way to become an Ecoarts’ piece is what everyone marvels at.
- Wood is used in many pieces like colorful panels with human figures by Almir Antônio de Paula. The most common sources for the wood used are demolitions, waste from construction works, trees destroyed during intense storms and other reused objects, like old boxes.
- Banana tree fiber, the main material that the Gente de Fibra group use, is recycled from the harvest of bananas in Minas Gerais and mixed with recycled cardboard paper and natural pigments.
- Metal, a common material in many artists’s pieces, such as those of José Carlos Riback, João Neto Teixeira and Cléber Wiermman, is generally reused steel or brass, although sometimes new material is taken, in which case special attention is paid not to waste anything and to use100% of the metal.
- Glass, the preferred material of Cristina Duarte, is long-lasting and considered one of the best in terms of environment. Ecoarts works use new and recycled glass.
- Gourd is used to make the lovely and colorful ballerinas of Odair Ribeiro Neves that simply reuse this vegetable.
- The great news regarding materials in this edition is the sweet sculptures in paper obtained by recycling concrete bags. By artist Alice Mascarenhas.
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