Made in Italy with Soul
This episode is a conversation with the Italian brand Meraky. Our conversation begins with how they were introduced into working with discarded materials which led them to establish their brand - a brand known for creating high quality fashion accessories out of unusual materials.
Part of our discussion looks at how craft has come to inform their approach in how they have come to develop design solutions using waste materials and what roadblocks they have encountered and how this has come to establish a new material development. We also talk about what motivates their brand philosophically and the steps they have had to take to develop relationships and partnerships to assist in their ongoing research and development.
For more information on our guest:
Rosaria Marraffino grew up in a small town in the South of Italy, before moving to Bologna to attend university to study astronomy. Since she was a child she always had a passion to “make” things from whatever she sough around her. She met her collaborator Emilia in 2006 while they were both students. They found themselves renting places that didn’t have much furniture (well, not much “nice” furniture), so they decided to take matters into their own hands. It was during this time they realised there were plenty of treasures made available to them.
Their creative collaborative relationship developing during their restoration, redecoration and repurposing of items they collected during their “rescuing expeditions”. It got to a point when all of the rooms in their apartment became full and they began to sell some of their creations. They also realised were running out of storage space and decided to go smaller. They transitioned into utilising beer caps, lids, recovered leather and textiles, This is when they developed their first brand, Re-find where they participated in every local market they could possibly find.
In 2017, they fell in love with coffee packaging - a material that can’t be recycled . They created their first “coffee-themed”collection, Aroma, renamed their brand Meraky and decided to work with local artisans to help us refine their process in order to perfect their new textile structure into hand-made accessories.
In 2020 they with met another start-up, Casa Grigi, from Portugal. Together they are developing an innovative 100% vegan and natural material, made out of banana peels. Their next collection, Mocha Split, is almost ready to be launched.
Links to Social Media and Website
Website: www.merakydesign.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/merakydesign/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MerakyDesign/
#TMR
The Material Revolution
http://thematerialrevolution.com
contact us: info@materialrevolution.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.material.revolution/
The podcast is independently developed and produced. It is through your support that will help us continue to create meaningful and impactful content.
Patreon page to make pledge: https://www.patreon.com/thematerialrevolution
Music by: Interior Design https://interiordesignmusic.bandcamp.com
Made in Italy with Soul
This episode is a conversation with the Italian brand Meraky. Our conversation begins with how they were introduced into working with discarded materials which led them to establish their brand - a brand known for creating high quality fashion accessories out of unusual materials.
Part of our discussion looks at how craft has come to inform their approach in how they have come to develop design solutions using waste materials and what roadblocks they have encountered and how this has come to establish a new material development. We also talk about what motivates their brand philosophically and the steps they have had to take to develop relationships and partnerships to assist in their ongoing research and development.
For more information on our guest:
Rosaria Marraffino grew up in a small town in the South of Italy, before moving to Bologna to attend university to study astronomy. Since she was a child she always had a passion to “make” things from whatever she sough around her. She met her collaborator Emilia in 2006 while they were both students. They found themselves renting places that didn’t have much furniture (well, not much “nice” furniture), so they decided to take matters into their own hands. It was during this time they realised there were plenty of treasures made available to them.
Their creative collaborative relationship developing during their restoration, redecoration and repurposing of items they collected during their “rescuing expeditions”. It got to a point when all of the rooms in their apartment became full and they began to sell some of their creations. They also realised were running out of storage space and decided to go smaller. They transitioned into utilising beer caps, lids, recovered leather and textiles, This is when they developed their first brand, Re-find where they participated in every local market they could possibly find.
In 2017, they fell in love with coffee packaging - a material that can’t be recycled . They created their first “coffee-themed”collection, Aroma, renamed their brand Meraky and decided to work with local artisans to help us refine their process in order to perfect their new textile structure into hand-made accessories.
In 2020 they with met another start-up, Casa Grigi, from Portugal. Together they are developing an innovative 100% vegan and natural material, made out of banana peels. Their next collection, Mocha Split, is almost ready to be launched.
Links to Social Media and Website
Website: www.merakydesign.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/merakydesign/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MerakyDesign/
#TMR
The Material Revolution
http://thematerialrevolution.com
contact us: info@materialrevolution.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.material.revolution/
The podcast is independently developed and produced. It is through your support that will help us continue to create meaningful and impactful content.
Patreon page to make pledge: https://www.patreon.com/thematerialrevolution
Music by: Interior Design https://interiordesignmusic.bandcamp.com