Sara Bevilacqua & Jonatan Herrera

Leatherworker

©Azar Studio

Cross-pollination of cultures and stories

Jonatan learned from Sara, who – as well as being his partner – is his mentor
Their work is informed by thousands of migration stories
The mix of cultures is reflected in their handwork

Sara Bevilacqua and Jonatan Herrera's work is inspired by the Mediterranean Sea. Italian, but raised in Argentina, Sara Bevilacqua and Catalan-Andalusian Jonatan Herrera work with braided leather, a very ancient technique that was practiced by the Phoenicians and Assyrians, and also adopted by the Persians and Arabs, who introduced it to the Iberian Peninsula. Their work has a lot of crossover and influences that unite several cultures: Italian, Argentinean and Andalusian. For Sara, the mystery of creative inspiration lies in the reality of what they are, the truth they embody and in their own stories as both a sentimental couple and as artisans.

Interview

©Azar Studio

©Azar Studio

What do you like most about your profession?: Everything that concerns the product. From the design, the prototyping process, the hand braiding and the finishing. We get along a bit worse with everything intangible: marketing, web, networks, numbers.
How would you recognise a quality product?: It is difficult to answer this question. When you hold an object in your hand, whatever it is, a vase, a glass, a bag, you can tell when it is well made and when it is not. It is a sum of things that go beyond the mere technical or the aesthetic.
Between tradition and innovation, where do you place yourselves?: We try to innovate and stay current in terms of the design of each piece, but at the same time, our production methods are traditional, our leatherworking techniques – leather braiding and macramé – are completely manual.
What influences your work?: The sea. And the manual work itself. The importance of each manual gesture, however humble and minimal it may seem, makes each product unique and at the same time, the slightest distraction makes it unsuccessful. It is a kind of alchemy in which the hand works intuitively with the eye.

Sara Bevilacqua & Jonatan Herrera are rising stars: they began their career in 2018