A monste lavarez (A Korua, 1986) he loves that we ask him about him amoro: “This is the first time I have been asked this question and I find it strange that no one has asked it before, because Heimat Atlantica revolves around love“. And yes, he says it in capital letters. “It’s a topic I’m very passionate about. Mysterious And this is incomprehensible. love is one of my main source of inspiration, It may sound normal, but love has to be world engine, Charles Chaplin said in his last speech in the film ‘The Great Dictator’ that ‘we think too much and feel too little’. and i have one too A collection of books on love, from Ovid to Punset. I have read about romantic love, about the magic in love, about love from a biological and chemical point of view … I even have a little book that my great-grandfather wrote about love in cell”.

The romantic spirit of this Galician woman who has passed away Roma and by Parse This statement would have made it quite clear, but as if that weren’t enough, here are more clues that speak of Alvarez’s sensitivity: he studied history of Art, Which is “not unlike being a creative person,” he argues. “My project isn’t just about designing, fashioning or selling bags: There’s a cultural and economic idea behind it.”, Understand. “I wish, within our humble position, Actors in the development of traditional crafts and contribute to showing how they can be part of our time cCreating a new synergy for artisans through a method of action that can be applied to other areas”.

The intention is ambitious, but it is working. Most of all, because he’s managed to get under stress Sargadelos Pottery In the wardrobe, for example, Lauren Santo Domingo: they are one of their main adornments pocketwhich, in fact, never ceases to be talisman, So much so that I did the first in. Make 2014When, after her first boyfriend left her, she tried to attract love again. He did not expect that the infatuation that would come to him would be one that would allow him to reconcile his intellectual anxieties and his desire with his roots.

“living other cultures and languages ​​during all these years, I felt the need to reveal my identity“, he says. “I was born into a family where ethnographic And this popular References and contemporary themes were mixed in. It used, among other things, that The Porcelain Talisman That Isaac Diaz Pardo Designed for Sargadeloso originated spontaneously.” “The superstitious I’ve been with it since I was little; Magical Realism is a property of Galician Culture Faced with reality, he sees fantastic elements in everyday context. The miracle is that “whether you are a Galician or not, believe in magic or not, These talismans have a universal meaning“, he argues.

For Alvarez, being able to use these talismans is “an honor”, because “Sargadelos is an unprecedented artistic and cultural project in Galicia”. And even “dare” to say it at the national level. What doesn’t oppose him is the international scene, because his basket-talismans are in shops like Matchesfashion, Le Bon Marché, Dover Street Market Ginza or The Webster, Buy windows to “legalize the craftsmen”.

“With Heimat Atlântica I want to inventbut protect the beautiful take as a starting point traditions You local technology which I am apt to integrate into my contemporary moment”, she explains of her process and the artisan’s role in her project. “You can create very fashionable and very durable, popular and artisan projects”He goes on to say that when he started working with artisans, the first thing he thought of was “the importance of creating a market: selling and buying is the main necessity of preserving the craft and not disappearing.”

In this sense, Alvarez advocates giving it value and, above all, “communicating its importance, and Help artisans create a system not only for their business, but also for the development of their techniquesA renewing or dying book for those setting their sight on Asia, where “craftsmanship is regarded as a treasure. One that really should be protected and not just as a technology’green washing,

“Nowadays everyone uses The word artisan as an adjective, and it is used in an unconventional way“, he develops. “For me, we talk about craftsmanship when the human hand generates a value, when raw materials available in the surrounding environment are used and excellence is sought in its work. It is linked to needs and from there trades are born. For this reason, in Heimat Atlântica they work with “popular craftsmen”, but at the same time “Local Stuff That Wasn’t Considered Great”, which is another step of ubiquitous stability. For this reason, he considers extension work and private programs aimed at his patronage important, as well as by the luxury industry, which, in a certain way, is also a part: “For example, Channel not only bought workshops that the various techniques do so that they do not disappear and ensure generational change, but even in the case of perfume, it has bought the fields of Jasmine in the south of France Protect plantations from real estate fever,

The mention of the channel is no coincidence, as it has also, in a certain way, united and collaborated with the house. “Shells with the closure of Maison Desrouges of the Chanel Métiers d’Art Group”, This is not the only important working moment that this historian remembers: in it is the presentation of the collection. private mansion on the Avenue des Invalides in Paris, where I found “strange drawings” of hearts that trumpeted and which are now the brand’s image; Collaboration with Comme des Garrons in 2018 (“My admiration for Rei Kawakubo knows no bounds, so you can imagine what that means; now my dream would be to work with Miuccia Prada”), Colareiras d’O Grove collection, sale at Le Bon Mar , its pop-up en cell… the list goes on and on, as Your collage of references Which has been nurtured because of his innate curiosity and experience as an art historian. “Como dice Diana Vreeland, the eye has to travelAnd this project is a way to travel through culture while doing things,” he says.

What does not change, whatever time passes, is that the universe of Heimat Atlantica continues to expand, crossing basket bag, And that Alvarez remains “entrepreneur, adventurous and imaginative.” magickaEven, something in which, perhaps because of its roots, it is always present … only, like the artisan, anew: “We’ve done tarot sessions at eventsbut I think modern witch magic It’s not only about how we perceive ourselves spirituality and our Relation with nature and love, but also with Our personal empowerment as women and our culture“, he proudly boasts. “I don’t thinkThere were never as many witches as there are today. Free minded and independent women who create knowledge.