The Bekka brand was born less than a year ago with the aim of giving a new meaning to waste and transforming it into design pieces
At the end of 2022, the visual artist and designer Brenda Guimarães, 38 years old, originally from Fortaleza (CE), moved to Rio de Janeiro (RJ) “already burdened by some discomfort and some dissatisfaction”, as she told Planeta on path of his socio-environmental impact design studio, Bekka. Watch the video interview above.
After working for nearly 20 years in fashion at the country’s major retailers, what was once her dream career began to turn into a huge annoyance. Especially when you realized that the fashion industry is the second largest polluter.
Brenda then arrived in the capital Rio de Janeiro, taking a break from her career and venturing into studying the arts. “I got back in touch with my manual skills and brought out everything that had been suffocated by the system of the corporate universe. I started painting and drawing. All this was very transformative for me,” he says.
During this process, the designer, already involved with the environmental issue, began to put on paper the ideas she had to contribute to the world. “So I started taking the trash, this waste that was bothering me so much, and exploring some ways to repurpose it, in a more beautiful way,” says Brenda, who officially founded her studio in February of this year.
“I started by doing many experiments. How, for example, to transform a plastic bottle into a beautiful vase for the home. I studied the coatings, up to the cellulose mixture”, explains the designer regarding the main raw material of the his pieces.
Made from egg carton
Bekka sells household items, such as decorative items, vases and lamps, made with cellulose and binders, which make the pieces stronger and more durable. Each is shaped, sanded and painted.
The dough used as a base is made with recycled cardboard, specifically from egg packaging: “which we have in abundance”, he explains. This waste is collected by a recycling cooperative in Rocinha.
Partnership with NGOs in Rocinha
“I have developed a training program for women in socially vulnerable situations and work in collaboration with the NGO Família na Mesa, in Rocinha”, says Brenda, who has the opportunity to promote contact with art, environmental education and safe conversations, as well as generating income for these women.
Based on the drawings made by the artist, the women work by replicating the pieces, which are produced 100% by hand. Each item takes two to three weeks to complete.
Press play to watch the video above.
Source: Terra
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