Habana Espacios Creativos was filled with yarn to host the first meeting of Havana’s women knitters and crocheters, organized by Chulita Teje and Tejidos Leyda, two of the enterprises that are especially dedicated to this craft.
The program included presentations, workshops, conferences and an expofair that brought together approximately twenty enterprises. Although not all of them are dedicated to knitting crocheting, others are linked to dressmaking or visual aesthetics.
“One of the main objectives was to unite these entrepreneurs, which is very difficult when we have never seen each other personally, if we don’t have spaces to socialize and get to know the work of our colleagues or to help each other. So that was the merit of the event,” explains Yenifer Álvarez, creator of Tejidos Leyda.
The “Arteseda” Sericulture group of the University of Matanzas was in charge of conducting a conference on the manufacture of silk threads. Likewise, Lisbet Garcés from Bibo’s Artesanía con Crochet project offered a workshop on the freedom of using this technique, the principles to be taken into account to get started in this art form, as well as techniques on the use of crochet hooks and needles. This was a space in which they exchanged on the opportunities offered by knitting and crochet, ranging from accessories and bags to clothing for pets.
Another discussion was related to the care of hands, since the artisan depends on them to work. They talked about the need to learn self-massage techniques and planning schedules that directly influence productivity and results. On the other hand, experiences were exchanged on what happens after the bad handling or care of the tools that are one’s hands, also recognized as a wake-up call regarding corporal well-being.
“From the event we took away many positive experiences… The partnerships constitute a step of great importance, for example the sericulture group of Matanzas would be a very good supplier of raw materials, not only to our enterprises and businesses, but to the country in general. The exchange of experiences allows us to learn about other techniques and even collaborate for the production of different items. Besides, gathering together to try to rescue the tradition was one of the most beautiful things.”
