Polka

Impact

POLCA helps cultivate belonging in the Brazilian border center-west by creating prints and manually printing them on products for clothing and home, seeking low environmental impact solutions in their production.

With each new collection, POLCA brings to everyday life a sensitive look at the landscapes of the Pantanal and Cerrado, the traditional and contemporary cultural expressions that mix in this South American heartland that is Mato Grosso do Sul, the studio's origins.

History

The partnership between designers Mary Saldanha and Paula Bueno dates back to 2008, when they created a studio that developed visual identity projects for local entrepreneurs, artistic manifestations and product development consultancy for groups of artisans.

For years following cool initiatives emerging and dissolving, the duo accumulated desires: to undertake and create a market channel for local creations and mainly, the desire to give life to products that brought a look at the surroundings, at cultural expressions. , for the beauty of biomes and thus help to strengthen the bond of urban human relationships with these landscapes.

The first POLCA collection was launched in 2019.



Photo by: Vânia Jucá

Who does

Mary Saldanha entered design through her work with weaving, while Paula Bueno's entry point was the artistic practice of dance. Bringing these universes together, they create collections, manage and communicate POLCA and also screen-print the products, now supported by the work of printing assistant Larissa Correa.

The sewing of the pieces is distributed in workshops in Campo Grande: Ateliê da Jô, Ateliê Hilda Aguiar and Vanda Sol Ateliê. Sales are supported by Cláudia Banzer and accounting is carried out by Única Soluções Contábeis, led by Fabiana Senna. A team of female directors!

Products

POLCA offers original products for the home and clothing, filling everyday life with references from a fascinating region. In this studio-store, there is an understanding that good design projects are those that do not generate more problems than they solve, therefore, they create their products thinking about minimizing the impact of their production, using:
- Natural FABRICS such as cotton and linen or artificial threads made from vegetable origin, such as viscose, which is made from cellulose. Thus, when the piece completes its cycle, nature absorbs its residue much more easily.
- Water-based INK without heavy metals in the composition, used without waste, which contributes to a healthier environment when printing parts and also throughout the chain that comes into contact with them.
- PACKAGES made of kraft paper, printed manually in the studio, as needed, avoiding accumulations of material. They are easily compostable by end customers.
- USE of as much fabric as possible, through intelligent cuts or creation of new products from “leftovers”.