Brazilian Blankets at Joinery, New York

Brooklyn boutique, Joinery has developed a popular range of hand woven rugs and blankets made in Brazil.

Brooklyn boutique, Joinery has developed a popular range of hand woven rugs and blankets made in Brazil. Brand founder, Angela Silva developed the range following her serendipitous discovery of the unique textiles in Minas Gerais, and the few that she first imported swiftly sold out.

Weaving is a primary occupation in the sleepy rural town, most households contain a loom, and traditional patterns have been passed down through generations. However, when Silva visited the area for her father’s wedding, (which is similar to the Brazilian region where she herself grew up), only two weavers were still producing this type of time-consuming blanket, and only one shop was selling them, which has since shut down. A true cottage industry, the patterns are produced from memory which means that in the past, each family tended to stick to producing a singular design.

Realising that the textiles that had proved so popular in the US were about to fall into the realm of an historic craft, Silva rose to the challenge to find people willing to work with them on the production of these blankets. Over 2 years, the Joinery workshop has grown to a team of six weavers with two weavers working on one loom to produce one blanket a day and they are now just about able to keep up with demand. The pieces available on the Joinery website are designed in Brooklyn and produced in Brazil, allowing the tradition to continue and making the beautiful products available to an ethically minded, design savvy international audience.

Joinery: Handwoven in Brazil from joinerynyc.com on Vimeo.