My name is Janine Duarte
The "Pas de Soucis" ladies' handbag is beautifully shaped, simple and reduced to the essentials. The combination of vegetable-tanned calfskin and regenerated nylon (ECONYL®) combines lively nature and simple beauty of form. The high-quality zipper that opens on both sides makes it easy to access all the things that accompany you on your tours and detours. My name is Janine Duarte and I'm in the KoKoTé shop today to tell you about leather processing and why natural materials need to be cared for so they can have a long life and age naturally. I used ECONYL® - recycled fishing nets - together with leather because I believe that we need to take care of our environment. If we can reuse old materials and extend the life of man-made products, we bring a little hope to everyday life. I came to Switzerland from Portugal in 2014 and completed my Swiss apprenticeship as a textile practitioner EBA. Now I am at KoKoTé with the aim of expanding my skills as a leather specialist. There are only a few of us in Switzerland doing this apprenticeship and of course we hope that a really special craft will not disappear completely. Honestly, KoKoTé is a very strange place! It is a place of inspiration and sometimes hard work, which I share with my colleagues from Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria and many other places, even some from Uri! To be honest, even if the work is hard and serious, we learn a lot about responsibility and respect for my colleagues, the materials and our craftsmanship. KoKoTé is the place where you are inspired to find new ideas and driven to make them happen! Visit me in the shop and I will show you what I have made, but also what the KoKoTé team, Amene, Achinedu, Shukriye, Najiba and Javad - my colleagues - and Gönül and Ali - our bosses - have made with utmost care and passion!
Janine Duarte
I find this extraordinarily sensible and also courageous,
Daughter's teacher
