Reed : a natural fiber that grows in the lagoons

Reed is a natural fiber that is found in the lagoons around Brazil.

The reed we use for our handbags is from Rio Grande do Norte, a region in the north of Brazil, close to the Amazon: to collect it you must be very courageous, like our artisan Josa and all her family because you have to enter the lagoon and you have to be very quick and careful because in the water wild animals like alligators and snakes live and  you have to pay attention and avoid them.

To collect it, women use floating tires to float around the lagoon and pick it from above. The reed can be up to 5 meters long.

After the picking, women have to tight it together to create bunches

and finally you take them out of the water and let it dry for around 2 weeks

After drying , the reed is ready to be used ! 

And now Josa and her daughter can finally start embroider the jute and create fantastic patterns

It takes approximately 3 to 4 days depending on the difficulty of the pattern to finish the embroidery 

And finally when you have the embroidery fabrics done,