There are thirty women who offer their hands, traditions, imagination in Manima. They come from Palermofrom nearby villages and some even from more remote centers in Sicily where they will continue the artisanal work in their homes. The heart of embroidery, however, is here, in this post office decommissioned and transformed by Piero Di Pasquale and Carolina Guthmann in the creative headquarters of this start-up atelier capable of giving ancient craftsmanship a contemporary soul and an international destiny. Couple in life but not in profession – he was an important television journalist, she a high-level international manager – they decided to give life to this together economic, emotional and solidarity project which has its weaving materials mainly in linen and hemp embroidery.
When you cross the threshold of the creative hotbed in Piazzetta Santo Spirito in the area of Foro Italico, between Palazzo Butera and Abatellisone is immediately struck by the circle formed by the women who knit while whispering light words and by the liveliness and beauty of poufs, handbags, trousseaus, dresses, design elements also in glass and ceramic endowed with that freshness which perhaps, before Manima, was a bit missed this one form of family craftsmanship and therefore alienated from the knowledge and preferences of a wider audience. «We wanted to do something that had a profound meaning for revitalize this ancient art – Carolina and Piero explain together – and why this niche production, entirely ecological, came out of the cocoon and took flight. Now, in addition to the embroidererswe can also involve the carpenters to give life to design objects, we are digitizing all small museums of embroidery existing in Sicily and we work to trace the paths of embroidery, so that tourists and people passionate about this form of craftsmanship can take the opportunity to go and visit the ateliers scattered across the island. Villa Igiea by Rocco Forte Hotels also included us in the Tour of the Matriarchs which highlights the local female potential.”
It is a professional and cultural project that sees the women involved share opportunities for enrichment such as visits to museums, participation in theatrical and musical shows. «It is important – underlines Carolina – that those who do this type of profession nourish themselves with the beauty that they will then transmit to their own creations. Furthermore all of them are hired with home contract. We want to be an alternative model to illegal work.” Requests, certificates of esteem and awards arrive from all over the world, including established fashion houses: however, Maria, Rosalia, Anna, Agata, Giuseppina, Mariana, who are embroidering today, seem to be more interested than anything else in creating a weft of fibers and love for Sicily.
