Pilar Ureña Escariz
Innovator
Regenaritve Crafts with Pilar Ureña Escariz
Spain
Economic
Rural Areas
Remote rural areas
The innovation journey
Pilar Ureña Escariz is an entrepreneur and artist who has created her regenerative handicraft project through the recovery of residues from banana trees in the Canary Islands, Spain. Pilar started to investigate handmade textile techniques that could be made with this kind of material, and she started to work in 2017 on interior décor, architectural lining projects, and fashion accessories, researching and exploring its many textile applications using a variety of needlework. In 2021, she opened a studio in Moya, a municipality in the north of Gran Canaria known for growing bananas, where she investigates, creates, and sells handmade, sustainable, and contemporaneous pieces. The project is a creative innovation that makes the most of local and sustainable materials to create a wide range of unique pieces that combine contemporary aesthetics with traditional embroidery techniques.
The innovation impact
Pilar has created an innovative, sustainable and inclusive circular handicraft project that has a social and economic impact on the territory. This project has a sustainable approach since it utilizes natural and local materials. In addition to the sale of her products, which she makes at the specific request of customers, she offers training in the use and processing of fibre planta and actively participates in social projects to teach her techniques to local communities seeking other options to strengthen their economy. In addition, Pilar has a relationship with the Canarian Planta Museum, where there is a space for artistic research. Through her project, Pilar contributes to the valorisation of manual labour, creating unique, durable and quality products that do not suffer from planned obsolescence, in contrast to the low-priced mass distribution.
Projects like Pilar’s have an impact not only economically but also socially and are important to revive handicrafts. There is a need to increase the visibility of projects like this, which highlights the merits and advantages of disseminating these products. It is important to create spaces for collaboration and meetings between artisans to encourage the creation of networks that can foster the creation of synergies and the dissemination and publication of these realities, which can also take place through the launch of themed events.