# Las Manuelas

One design one history.

2012 - Ongoing

On a distant horizon, somewhere in the Southern highlands of Peru, at more than 4.000 metres altitude, live a group of

strong and joyful women dedicated to alpaca breeding.

In 2012, IED REC was commissioned by the organizations Economists without Borders and Movimiento Manuela Ramos

to develop a research project aimed at empowering and connecting these artisans to the rest of the world by means

of their craftsmanship.

During a trip to Peru to understand the local context, the IED REC Team, through observation and analysis,

discovers the opportunity to link these artisans with designers. This leads to the idea of a co-creation methodology

that encourages the women to participate in the creative process, thus facilitating their direct collaboration

with the designers while impregnating each piece with their unique identity.

The first stage, after training the women in basic knitting techniques and the CoDesign Concept, is a collection

of scarves, hats and gloves, co-created by the artisans and a team of designers selected from the IED in Madrid.

Aesthetically avant-garde yet brimming with Andean soul and tradition. Under the title “LAS MANUELAS, Un diseño | Una historia”,

the works are displayed as an exhibition at IED Madrid.

lasmanuelas.org

During the second stage, IED REC develops lasmanuelas.org and the IED CoDesign Platform, creating a social network

between alpaca herders, artisans, designers and buyers that blurs physical distances and cultural barriers.

# IED CoDesign Platform

A collaborative tool for designers and artisans.

2014 - Ongoing

The IED REC Team ideates and develops an easy-to-use digital design tool: the IED CoDesign Platform, enabling

designers and artisans to work together in the design process, thus blurring physical

distances and cultural barriers.

The platform reflects the handmade artisanal creative process, and is accessible not only to designers,

but also to people who don’t have previous digital experience and easy access to internet. In turn, the user

can design with others remotely no matter where they are, with minimal equipment.

The CoDesign Platform redefines the conventional design methodology by starting with available natural resources

through a database that appears on the platform itself as you start a new design, informing the user/designer on

the availability of the materials available in each collective/community/location.

This small change in the design process provokes a positive impact by highlighting the natural availability of

the materials as its main manifesto of respect towards the environment, avoiding artificial production of materials

based on industry needs and appreciating the extraordinary materials that nature and its ecosystems create naturally.

Nature should be the main source of inspiration for the future of design.

The Platform functions offline and can be accessed from any computer as long as it has a browser with HTML5 and

SVG capabilities (IE11, Chrome v.49 etc.)

lasmanuelas.org/CoDesign

#research

#education

#design

#craft

#sustainability

#technology

# Las Manuelas & Los Manolos

From the edge of the world to the high end fashion consumer.

2016

This Design Research Experiment seeks to innovate in creating intelligent, inspiring and seducing

products while setting the right balance between functional, emotional, esthetical and ethical in a real world context.

Using Pre-Columbian motifs as inspiration, the collective of designers and artisans is commissioned

to create a collection of scarves using the CoDesign Platform. Two workshops are put into place to efficiently

test the design process: Los Manolos in Madrid and Las Manuelas in Mazocruz, Perú.

The production turns out to be 100% traceable. The artisans use handspun alpaca wool from their own animals,

and all materials are dyed by hand with local plants. A collection of eleven scarves emerges, each originating

from the one-on-one collaboration between artisan and designer. The project is presented at Premiere Classe and goes

on to be displayed and sold at the CONCENTO concept stores in Japan.

lasmanuelas.org

#design

#fashion

#craft

#strategy

#sustainability

#technology

# Raúl Marina & Las Manuelas

A CoDesign research experiment with designer Raúl Marina.

2017

After a long phase of development that kindled the first version of the IED CoDesign Platform, a design experiment

is carried out to test the functionality and opportunities offered by this digital tool as a creative instrument.

The IED REC Team contacts Madrid-based artist Raúl Marina, who reinterprets self-portraits of three historical

figures on the platform: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Italian painter, sculptor and architect from the XVII Century;

Alexander Huebel, the Latvian painter, also from the XVII Century, and Leon Bonnat, the French painter from the XIX Century.

Raúl is truly artistic in his approach, treating each step with crucial importance.

The Peruvian collective Las Manuelas interprets Raúl´s design onto three large pieces of alpaca wool, each

1.70m wide + 0.70m high. The visual result is formidable.

lasmanuelas.org

This project is currently being developed.

#research

#design

#fashion

#craft

#sustainability

#technology

# Las Manuelas Art Series

Crossing the line.

2018

The IED REC Team curates an international lineup of eleven prestigious, contemporary, urban-inspired artists for a

new Las Manuelas collection. Each artist is asked to provide one piece of work (either a photo of their work in

the public sphere or a new creation from their studio) to be used for the project. The eleven selected works are then

transferred into the CoDesign Platform and arranged before they are handwoven into scarves made of 100% natural alpaca wool

by the Las Manuelas collective in Peru.

This process unites worlds that are normally kept separate from each other, such as Fashion, Crafts, Cooperation and Art,

in one remarkable project.

The eleven artists are:

Bicicleta Sem Freio (Sao Paolo)

Broken Fingaz (Tel Aviv)

Huskmitnavn (Copenhagen)

Lakwena (London)

L´Atlas (Paris)

Rekaone (Melbourne/Berlin)

Revok (Los Angeles)

SatOne (Munich)

Seikon (Warsaw)

Solomostry (Milan)

Zebu (Berlin)

#design

#fashion

#craft

#strategy

#sustainability

#technology

This project is currently being developed.

# WORTH Partnership Project

Strategy and design for the EC initiative.

2017 — 2021

The WORTH Partnership Project is a European Commission initiative promoted by an international consortium

of partners that consists in the creation of transnational collaborations between designers, creatives, manufacturers,

tech companies, small/medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups throughout Europe in order to innovate and develop

advanced prototypes that go beyond industry´s current limitations.

WORTH selects 150 projects over four calls/years and provides financing, training, coaching, networking activities,

as well as participation in trade fairs aimed at bringing the products to market. Each call culminates in an intense

two-day event in a European city where all participants gather to kickstart the selected projects. This event is called

the WORTH Weekend.

WORTH focuses on areas such as fashion, accessories, footwear, textile, furniture, jewelry, leather goods, decoration,

communication, sales and art direction within the 28 European as well as associated COSME countries.

Within the WORTH framework, the IED REC Team manages the following tasks:

1. Communication. Branding, Web & Design Consultancy

2. Steering Committee. Selection and Contact

3. Worth Weekends. Design and Production

www.worthproject.eu

#research

#design

#fashion

#strategy

This project is currently being developed.

# Center for Design and Innovation in Crafts, Peru

A place to foster the development of the craft ecosystem

2017 - Ongoing

The Ayacucho Project is a private-public initiative lead by Patronato Pikimachay. Its main objective in

the crafts sector is to promote and foster local know-how, improve and generate opportunities for craftsmen,

and enrich their skills through education and practice.

The research project centers itself on the development of the new National Design and Innovation Center for

Craft in Peru. As part of our process, and in order to understand the Peruvian craft ecosystem, a 10 day research

session is carried out in Peru to meet with national and regional governments as well as artisans, businessmen and

citizens alike. A roadmap is devised from the research, presenting new perspectives, challenges and opportunities.

Given that Ayacucho is the unofficial epicenter of Peruvian craft, craftsmen have lived there since the times of the

Wari culture. Nonetheless these communities do not have the access to work with the precious local resources. Last but

not least, skills and techniques are being lost because the younger generations are simply not interested.

Currently these insights are on the verge of solidifying into an integrated set of pilot projects, a physical craft lab

for craftsmen of the 21st century, a program for craft education in design and innovation and the founding of the official center.

This project is currently being developed.

#research

#education

#design

#craft

#strategy

#sustainability

#technology

# The Craft & Makers Platform

Connecting designers to artisans worldwide.

2018

The IED REC Team ideates and develops a global database to give visibility and direct access to artisans,

materials and traditional techniques all over the world, that launches in June 2018. The digital platform enables

artisans, herders, and producers who live in remote areas the opportunity to offer their materials, techniques,

and expertise while connecting to designers from all over the world.

The platform, powered by IED, is tuition-free, open source and aims to integrate all existing local data concerning

craft towards the construction of a singular global database. IED REC partners with national governmental and academic

institutions, as well as local associations and organizations to crowdsource the information in order to build an

international network to nurture the platform.

The Craft & Makers Platform provides a common and universal language between Craft and Design; a living database that’s

constantly growing.

thecraftplatform.com

This project is currently being developed.

#design

#craft

#strategy

#sustainability

#technology

# Redefining Craft

A new understanding.

2014

Redefining Craft in the Twenty First Century

Redefining Craft in the Twenty First Century is an encounter between traditional artisans and digital

artists organized by IED Fashion Lab Madrid that aims to redefine craftsmanship and the guild concept in

the this century, juxtaposing initially antagonistic concepts such as "craft-technology," "local-global,"

"tradition-innovation" or "inheritance-future."

Leatherwork & 3D Printing

Body pieces and accessories are created with embossed leather details on structures, volumes and textures

designed with a digital program and printed in 3D.

Julia Koerner, Vienna. 3d Printing.

Melina and David, Madrid. Saddlery in leather.

Embroidery & Arduino

Sensorial color-changing embroidery is investigated. Traditional techniques such as cross stitch or French

knot are intertwined with LEDs, microprocessors and Arduino boards.

Afroditi Psarra, Athens. Arduino.

JT Bordadores, Madrid. Embroidery

With the collaboration of the AITEX Textile Technology Institute.

Screen Printing & Digital Art

"Glitch Art" is examined as a creative method applied to traditional printing techniques, including a

ecessary dialogue about how the "error" in digital and analogical processes leads to the creation of a new

aesthetic language.

Ill Studio, Paris. Digital art.

Ana Escalera, Madrid. Serigraphy.

Basketmaking & Wearables

New ergonomic structures for the foot are assembled employing classic basketry techniques as the basis

for three-dimensional construction, in addition to the mixture of both natural and technological materials.

Ricardo O'Nascimento, Sao Paulo. Wearables.

Carlos Fontales, Toledo. Basketry.

With the collaboration of the AITEX Textile Technology Institute.

Tailoring & Digital Video

The art of tailoring and its construction process are depicted utilizing new digital and artistic video techniques.

Igor Zimmerman, Stockholm. Video artist.

Yusty Morales, Madrid. Tailor.

#research

#education

#design

#fashion

#craft

#technology