hello sweet friends, how are you? was your monday a good start for you this week? i have some major news, but once again i will save them for later, as now i wish to share with you another brilliant portuguese artist. and with no further ado…
can you tell us something about yourself? my name is rita pinheiro and i am 36 years-old, i live in a small town in alentejo. i am a lucky lady that works in something she loves, which is making dolls. i am very disorganized and a bit chaotic! the atelier is completely a war zone when i have a lot of work to do!
how did {matilde beldroega} start? it all started when i moved to alentejo and decided that i wanted to dedicate my full-time to something that was truly my own… and of course that would meet my skills and the field in which i have studied, plastic arts. when i was a child i was lucky enough to be surrounded by fabric dolls, i loved them so much! they were made by my grandmother… a few years ago, just for fun, i made some fabric dolls myself for a few friends. these friends loved them so much that encouraged me to keep up with that work. though i did not start right ahead, that kept wandering on my mind. and in tha right time it started for real as a project. it’s been six years… and to those fabric dolls some other fabric dolls have joined. it has been quite an experience and a pleasant surprise.
what inspires you? well, for me inspiration is almost like an enchantement process. it comes to me in the most diverse way… and sometimes in a very unexpected way… like a music, a movie, a book… even a good meal or conversation. everything that is stimulating can be inspiring, we just need to be focused and pay attention to all those little signs. for example, i consider that country walks are a constant resource for inspiration. besides “clearing my head”, i feel delighted by all the shapes, colours, smells, sounds… that keep changing with seasons. city walks are also quite inspiring… the people, the street life… above all, i try to not look for inspiration in the most obvious places.
i don’t look for doll’s books, not work that is similar to mine. and another very important thing that we must not forget, is that inspiration is just tyhe first step of the work… maybe the trigger to get me going, but then… then there comes the real work. i believe that those interesting ideas will only be born with a lot of trial and error… we must take risks!
what advice can you give for those small business owners in our country? be very persistent! also taking pleasure from what you do, because you must be ready for mistakes… and you must not rush. it is very important to understand if what you are selling is relevant, is interesting for others to buy. and last, but not least… be intelectually honest with yourself and others.
what do you think would be helpful for small business owners in our country? well, i believe that it would help a lot if we had a fiscal system that woul take in serious consideration the very small businesses and their importance to the economical and creative development in this country. i am specifically referring to businesses like mine that live with very tight profit margins and are not easily catalogued. it would also help a lot if we were more united and shared more frequently our experiences and also information. and for experiences, i am referring to all those experiences… good and/or bad.
and this was the interview with rita, from {matilde beldroega}. she was indeed inspiring and in a more personal way, i may consider that this was exactly the most inspiring interview i could have read today. i will explain that later. thank you rita, you were really kind in being here and letting me have a bit of your work here in {a place for twiggs}. we should really get more supportive and share our experiences! we must do something for that! well… i need to go for now, will be back later with those news, but for now i will leave you with all the places you can find {matilde beldroega}… which is {here}, {here} & {here}.
images: matilde beldroega via etsy
rita pinheiro says
:)*