Interview

• How did you first come across your craft?

  I was working on a social craft project with women in Gran Canaria. Industrial threads were too expensive. I discovered banana fibres and a way to implement local resources at a sustainable price.

• Was there a special turning point in your professional path?

  A renowned singer from the Canaries asked me to knit him a banana fibre costume for a performance paying homage to plantation workers. After this, I got a call from the Canary Islands Institute of Technology to design special packaging for Canarian products. The project was not executed, but it confirmed that my craft was in the public eye.

• What is something most people do not know about your craft?

  Most people who work with this plant use the stem as a major source of fibre, while I use the last leaf to shoot, called the flag leaf. I have researched its malleability, strength, and all types of uses in knitted form.

• What was your first product commission?

  I designed a series of lamps for a Mexican gourmet restaurant in the Canaries. Though it was an experimental prototype, I called it Fiat Lux and indeed, it gave light to the new path I was setting out on.