Crafted from Eco-Materials
RAW MATERIALS
SEEDS
The Brazilian Seeds found at Brazilian Forests such as Amazonia and Pantanal are used by Brazilian Native Communities that have learned to live sustainably with the resources found around the forest.
Many of these Native Communities are indigenous. They learned from a young age to pick certain ripe seeds falling from plants and trees, to then wild harvest, polish, hand drill and dye each seed. These practices of crafting are passed through generations and carry a vast cultural history.
After seeds are prepared, artisans start to create colorful and natural jewelry and accessories. The art of crafting is the most important source of income for most of these communities.
We use many types of seeds from tropical forests as Amazonia such as Jarina, Tucumã, Babaçu, Jacarandá, Jatobá, Murumuru and Acai. They are better conserved in a cool temperature environment.
The Seeds bring a fun, colorful and natural beauty to its users!
GEMSTONES
The story of Brazilian gemstones begins with the arrival of Portuguese colonists in the 16th century.​Whilst searching for gold, Portuguese miners discovered diamonds in Bahia. ​
Pretty soon, Brazil became the world largest source of diamonds and would remain so until the discoveries of new mines in South Africa 150 years later.
​In the 18th century, German immigrants discovered amethyst in the Minas Gerais region of north east Brazil. At the time, amethyst was as valuable as rubies and sapphires.
​Slowly but surely over the next two centuries more and more colored gemstone varieties were discovered across Brazilian lands until it has reached the point of being the main source of gemstones.
Precious stones are distinguished by their quality, their rarity and the beauty of their colors. There are only four precious stones: diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald. All other stones are therefore called semi-precious stones.
Gem-stones are a precious item of healing, culture, beauty and generation value. They can be mixed with any other eco-material and look simply fabulous!
SUSTAINABLE WOOD
Brazil was 'discovered’ in 1500 when Pedro Cabral landed in Porto Seguro. Brazil was given its name by the colonists after the brazil-wood tree (pau-Brasil) which was plentiful at the time and the timber from this tree along with sugarcane was soon exploited.
Our artisans use small pieces of Brazilian wood that fell on the soil from the trees such as brazil-wood to create many of our accessories and decor.
We combine other elements of nature such as gem-stones to create beautiful pieces.
The most common technique to make wood jewelry is through carving knife and chisel, polishing and using sometimes resin to give it durability and support.
A "wood look" gives a rustic touch to the accessories!
BAMBOO
Brazil has the largest natural reserve of bamboo on the American continent, with an estimated 18 million hectares of bamboo-dominant forest in the south-west Amazon basin.
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Several exotic bamboo species were introduced to Brazil during the period of colonization by the Portuguese.
These species are widely distributed around the country and, along with some natives ones, have a large number of uses: building material; source of food for people and livestock; raw material for making a wide variety of handicrafts; source of medicine; raw material for paper pulp; for erosion control; as ornamental plants; etc.
Bamboo is a versatile and delicate material to work with. It creates beautiful, light and unique natural designs of jewelry and accessories.
GOLDEN GRASS
Syngonanthus nitens is a type of straw-like grass that is naturally a brilliant gold shade, "golden grass". The species exists in the region of Jalapao, State of Tocantins, Brazil. The region is part of the Brazilian cerrado (a tropical savanna ecoregion).
Indigenous people taught the art to local inhabitants when passing through the region around the 1930s. The handicrafts are made of coils of S. nitens scapes sewn tightly together with strips from the Moriche (Mauritia flexuosa) young leaves.
Syngonanthus nitens' flowering starts in July and seeds are produced from the beginning of September through October.
The Tocantins State Government, through its Environmental Agency (Naturatins), established a regional law allowing scape harvesting only after September 20, and requiring flowerhead cutting and dispersal in the grassland areas just after scape harvesting. This regional law can be an efficient tool for contributing to the sustainability of Golden Grass handicraft activities.
The golden grass is used to produce not only beautiful shiny gold jewelry, but also for many objects of decor.
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Our artisans also use other natural materials found in nature such as feathers and dry flowers. Other metals and precious materials such as gold 18k, silver 900, copper and surgical steel are also used by artisans to make fine pieces of jewelry.