Neide Ambrosio aka Pretinha
Neide Ambrosio
In a time like ours when so many people are focused on sustainable lifestyles and products, it would only be natural for this practice to cross over into the fashion world. Neide Ambrosio is a designer working towards this assimilation; in partnership with National Geographic, this São Paulo native creates a wide variety of accessories from soda can tabs. After moving to Rio de Janeiro with her husband in pursuit of his music career, this retired teacher was completely removed from her home at the age of 65. She began collecting trash and cleaning locally; this environmental work lead to her to consider a new hobby; she knew how to crochet and thought, how can I use these pieces to create something amazing? She began to use beer can tabs on account of the fact that Brazilians consume them in excess and litter their empty cans on beaches, and got to work!
To create her pieces, she collects tabs from the cans that she finds and washes them thoroughly, removing all residues and impurities. After they are cleaned, she either uses their natural color or spray paints them for an added flair! Lastly, she crochets the pieces, bringing all of the tabs together to create a unique, cohesive accessory. Her bags are mostly lined with zipper pockets, and are great conversation pieces for any green fashion fanatic!
As her skills grew, so did her creativity; she claims that she had so many ideas that she was overwhelmed with wanted to create them all at once! As she designed more products and was encouraged to display them at local craft shows, her popularity began to grow. Novica, which is a company run by National Geographic set to promote the work of creatives, then came into contact with her and wanted to sell her products. She decided that she should partner with them and has been thriving in all aspects of life since. Her business began to bloom and her enthusiasm surrounding the partnership even encouraged her husband to help her in creating ideas for her pieces.
With her name now publicly known and her products sought after, she got to a place where should could offer employment to young girls from untrustworthy companies; she taught them her skills and feels privileged to be able to help others in need. Her designs have been seen all over the world from local fairs to the arms of Hollywood stars to the pages of Vogue! Her work for the environment offers great fulfillment while also being a creative outlet, allowing everyone involved to reap the benefits of her amazing creations! Head on over to our collection to get one of your own Neide Ambrosio designs to help both the Earth and your accessory closet!
