MORE THAN MATERIAL INTEREST
The sisters behind Co-Creative Studio explore the intimacies of community and hard work
Picture this: a web of pipes, wires, and cogs twisting and turning to make the product of your choice. Conveyor belts circulate and levers go up and down, each part of the machine operating in a manner that can be described as meticulous, efficient, and wellcalculated. The machine never tires and makes the barest mistakes. Efficient, yes, but also cold and mechanical.
Contrast it with the image of soiled, sweaty hands gripping skeins that are plaited into ropes. The fingers move slowly but surely. A candle flame is used to bind the ends of the ropes, and the sun, though harsh, provides the necessary light. The work produced may not be as precise as what a machine could, but the craftsmanship is honest, intimate, and warm.
Those hands belong to Mrs. Diosdada whose work of recycling rope from nearby docks span 40 years and have sustained her and her family.
Her efforts are now being appreciated, thanks to sisters Vikki and Paula Rodriguez of Co- Creative Studio. Rope skeins were fashioned into pieces for Co- Creative Studio’s Navi Collection, which heavily takes inspiration from its raw materials: the sea, the waves, and everything in between.
Mrs. Diosdada belongs to one of the communities recognized and tapped by CoCreatives Studio, and the recognition extends beyond the use of the material they work with; there’s also a conscious effort on the studio’s part to highlight the honest work of craftsmen. One of the ideals of Co- Creative Studio is “Co- mmunity,” where communities