local markets :: kase-faz

hello sweet friends, how are you today? another week… another tuesday and another {local markets} interview! i must confess that i have been feeling really happy because i have seen the support shown to {local markets} on the facebook page, and you all make me so proud! all of you, 67 fans! we’ll throw a party when we reach 100 fans! yay! we always must look for a reason to throw a party, don’t you think? now, let’s get down to business… not a grey & boring business… but a colourful and handmade business! i believe i have found her… well, i cannot remember, but when i got to her shop… oh, i fell in love by all the lovely and exquisite details. her name is maria. maria madeira. the lady behind {kase-faz}.

can you tell us something about yourself? hi, my name is maria and i live in the countryside near a small town called vila do conde in the north of portugal with my husband and our pets. i am a designer-maker and indie crafter. in my spare time i am a crafter and a enthusiastic amateur photographer.

how did {kase-faz} start? i am very restless and since i was young, i have nejoyed creating things with my hands. i like the whole creative process very much, from creating the drawn concept, the final touches… choosing materials, deciding coloyrs, textures, fabric… and of course, the whole execution process. i have always liked fabrics and the wish to create something with them was what made me, along with my husband, a trained sculptor, start this project in 2006. we wanted to make handcrafted one-of-a-kind items, matching traditional manufacturing techniques with a modern experimental appeal. six years ago a new niche market emerged for handcrafted goods, following the diy philosophy. {kase-faz} was created around that time, so we got some great feedback from the people who liked this lifestyle based on creativity.

what inspires you? everything around me serves as a source of inspiration. it might be a certain colour, a pattern in a new fabric, or some new material i decided to try… anything can trigger my inspiration!

what advice can you give for those small business owners in our country? i believe that each artist has to find a way to make something original to stand out from the crowd and figure out his/her work’s value. a handcrafter piece will always be more valuable than one other that is mass produced. there is just no way to get around that. the small business owners must appreciate their own work and sell it that way.

what do you think would be helpful for those small business owners in our country? the press could show much more interest in the crafting world, both in ots physical format and online one. it also does not make sense that right now there are many craft fairs out there, but they fail to showcase many of the highly talented artists that already exist. a large annual event that gathered all the best crafters would be ideal to give those artists the attention and recognition that deserve.

you can click in each one of these ladies and you will be heading to {kase-faz} shop in big cartel. maria has her own {blog} and you can also find her on {facebook}. i really love to know all these stories, mainly how they have started in the past… and what they seek for their work. the curious, and not that happy thing, is that the opinion about portugal’s support on handmade tyhings is not that much of a thing… at least how we believe it could be. constança from {saidos da concha}, another lovely guest on {local markets} has shared her opinion about this, in a lovely interview. you can read it {here}… if you speak portuguese. and this is it for today on {local markets}. i hope you have enjoyed maria’s work… these colours are so vibrant! and i invite you to explore the traditional touches on each doll!

what is {local markets}? a community dedicated to the very best portuguese talented & independent artists that strive for an original work and exquisitely executed handmade design & photography. once a week, there will be a special feature for these artists, to spread the word about their talent, to introduce you to new & fresh work. {local markets} is an original feature from {a place for twiggs}.