Inês Schertel presents slow design in her own exhibition in Milan

Inês Schertel left the capital of São Paulo six years ago to adopt a different lifestyle in Rio Grande do Sul. The Brazilian designer left the glamour of the metropolis and took refuge on a farm in São Francisco de Paula, where she takes care of around 400 sheep, which provide wool for the production of his exclusive rustic felt pieces. Some of these unique creations will be presented at the exhibition “Materica: unusual ways of working with materials”, from May 16 to October 31 this year, at Milan’s trendy nhow hotel, at Via Tortona, 35. Inês Schertel works with so-called slow design, participating step by step in the process of obtaining raw materials until the production of the pieces. With a curious eye, Inês observes the nature around her: plants, trees, mountains, bird nests, dawn mist. This rich repertoire suggests shapes and concepts for her to produce baskets, benches and tapestries made by hand with wool. “I value each stage of the production of the pieces. From the sheep that are raised in improved native pasture to the natural dyeing. Each thing in its own time, and each stage with its own storytelling. I find in wool an ancestral and at the same time contemporary inspiration in this process.” called slow design. I find it fascinating to be able to reuse, repurpose and give new meaning to noble materials that are no longer necessary for these animals,” says the architect and designer, who was once an art director and set designer.

This will not be the first time the designer has exhibited in Europe. She has been to Milan Design Week four times and, in 2017, she showed 21 items of her work in a solo exhibition at the Espelho D'Água space in Lisbon. Now , returns to the Italian city with seven pieces, including furniture and tapestries, developed over the last three years. It was in Milan, by the way, that Inês discovered the technique that would lead her to embrace slow design. At the renowned Rossana Orlandi gallery, she was enchanted by a rustic felt rug made from sheep's wool. "I always wanted to use the material from shearing of the animals on my farm, carried out in the summer. This discovery was a happy coincidence”, he says. The ancient technique used to felt wool was learned on several trips to Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, nomadic peoples taught them how to manually rub wool with soap and water until felt was created, considered humanity's first fabric, made without thread or loom. In this slow, sustainable and meticulous process, Inês is involved in everything from obtaining the raw material to producing the objects. “By using 100% natural and 100% renewable fiber, I pay homage to a tradition that is over three thousand years old, proposing something always fresh and contemporary”, he says. Service - “Materica: unusual ways of working with materials” When: May 16th to October 31st, 2019 Where: nhow Hotel, via Tortona, 35, Milan, Italy. Email : ines@inesschertel.com.br Instagram: @inesschertel