Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros Seating

Palafitas side table is made of Imbuia or cabreuva wood and bring the Tucumã straw, a typical palm of the Amazon rainforest, stained with roots, leaves and fruits, and braided by the...

Palafitas side table is made of Imbuia or cabreuva wood and bring the Tucumã straw, a typical palm of the Amazon rainforest, stained with roots, leaves and fruits, and braided by the...

Completely executed in the Kaupüna Village, located in the Xingu Indigenous Reserve, Kaupüna Swing unites the design of Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros and the indigenous handicraft tradition of the Mehinako people. Its design rises from the desire to highlight the buriti yarn, made by women, placing it in balance with the painted solid wood traditionally made by men and already with recognized value. It brings together the artisanal work of Mehinaku women who harvest, clean, and prepare the buriti straw to make the thread with which they weave their traditional nets, and of Mehinaku men who enter the forest to find trees from which to take the wood to create zoomorphic benches adorned with charcoal and annatto-based graphics. The Kaupüna Swing marks the first time in Kaupüna village that men and women worked together to create a single piece, what gives it an immeasurable value and meaning. Developed in partnership with Kulikyrda Mehinaku and Kuyawalu Aweti, it was considered by them a "new indigenous product". It is part of Yankatu's Xingu collection...

Curves and symmetry, comfort and beauty. The Embira Stool is a multifaceted piece that fits into different environments, from the most sophisticated to the coolest. Made with jequit...

Curves and symmetry, comfort and beauty. The Embira Stool is a multifaceted piece that fits into different environments, from the most sophisticated to the coolest. Made with jequitibá wood its feet seem fragile, but support the weight of sitting. A detail that draws attention is the mooring made with cotton threads dyed with the bark of the embira’s tree, collected on the surroundings of the Kaupüna Village, in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, Mato Grosso, Brazil. A passion for wood, symmetry, and flexibility. It is impossible not to fall in love with the structure of the “oca” (the name used to designate the Mehinaku indigenous people homes). The lightness that is counterbalanced by force is impressive. The curvature that the pindaíba trees, thin and long, allows, the solidity found in the cinnamon wood that permeates the earth to bring security, and the incredible embira bark that unites everything, eliminating the use of nails. These are all raw materials found in the surroundings, within sight, that have only their uses reviewed, showing that it is always possible to find a new meaning for what is around us and in our life. It is part of Yankatu's Xingu collection...

Cocar Chair is made from cabreúva wood to highlight the tradition of braiding tucumã straw from the Amazon rainforest. It is more than a chair, it's a manifesto. Crafts are culture. It is full of meanings, of reasons to be alive till these days. It reflects part of our history as human beings. It lives in harmony with the nature around him. It translates feelings and emotions. It represents lives. Lives that are as important as everyone else’s. Lives that deserve respect and recognition. Lives that keep alive cultures all around the world helping helping us not to lose sight of our ancestry. It is part of Yankatu's Alma-Raiz collection. To create them Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros researched the Brazilian traditions and made innumerous immersions in the riverside community of Urucureá, on the banks of the Arapiuns River and surrounded by the Amazon Forest. The Alma-Raiz Collection is born from the deepening plunge of the designer Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros into Brazilian identity. As all the pieces produced by Yankatu, it is accompanied by its soul, a certificate of authenticity in the form of a small book that tells about the inspiration that gave birth to it and leaves blank pages so that its story can continue to be told by those who acquire it, turning it into something more, which does not change with fashion, which does not go by with time. To the contrary, it will move on from a generation to another, from hand to hand, each time with more stories to tell, each time incorporating the lives shared by it. The wood comes from nature, each one is unique, with its veins, knots and tones. Because it is a natural material it suffers with the climate change, so cracks and shifts in color may emerge over time. The wood can also warp sometimes due to a large variation in relative humidity of the air. Naturally dyed straw has unique characteristics that never repeats itself. Due to this process, colors fade more easily than industrial ones. This isn’t considered a defect, on the contrary it is considered normal, as a way of telling its own story. When ordering, you should check what options are available. The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Brazilian Contemporary and Collectible Design by Yankatu, design + art with Brazilian soul. Exhibitions: 2023 - Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts and Design 2023 - Tel Aviv – Israel 2022 - Amazonie Immersive - Brussels, Belgium 2021 - TheChair - Usagy Gallery - New York, NY, United States of America 2020 - Material Origins – A Brazilian Colletciton curated by Waldick Jatobá - Adorno Design...