If you could create anything without limitations, what would you create?
The answer for me, was in leather goods.
My name is Cristina Alvarez and –due to my passion for creating wearable pieces of art– I devoted the past 10 years to explore, alongside leather craftsment in my country, how to incorporate my textile designs into leather bags, wallets and more. But then my focus changed.
As I joined and learned from master artisans in Escuela de Artes y Oficios Santo Domingo in my hometown, Bogotá (Colombia), a new found passion for leathercraftmanship techniques like saddle stitching and weaving, started to take form. What I was doing was no longer enough.
I started wanting to create (and make by myself) leathergoods that conveyed all the stories, creativity and artistry I felt I needed to express. And thus, Kum-Mará was born.
Kum-Mará is a space, a workshop created for me to explore the boundaries between traditional craftsmanship and the freedom of my profession: design.
Each product I make, is created to imbue within itself, the concepts of art, tradition and design. I shall explore making high end luxury products that not only honor the origins of the leather craftmanship tradition, but also have hints of color and design through handmade interventions derived from artisanal techniques such as embroidery, leather weaving, leather sheathing and marquetry. Know that if stitched... they're saddle stitched.
So join me, as I walk my own personal road of self expression and creativity, through handmade leather goods. And explore with me, as I learn, master and mess up my new techniques.
Lets make some functional art!
