European Enterprise Awards 2021

56 EU BUSINESS NEWS / European Enterprise Awards 2021 , Dec21416 Best Arts & Crafts News Platform - Spain When you need inspiration and a spectacular product that could bring your home together, look no further than the online magazine La Voz de las Costureras. It attracts many and keeps their creative fire fed whilst sharing a plethora of excellent creators. Here we speak to Author and Director of La Voz de las Costureras ‘The Voice of the Seamstresses’, Noemí Martínez, to find out about this glistening collective of dazzling creations. To begin with, Author and Director Noemí Martínez tells us that the online magazine La Voz de las Costureras, ‘The Voice of the Seamstresses’, is a magazine that encapsulates the spirit of the otherworldly creations of the textile world. She says, “La Voz de las Costureras is an online magazine with a wide variety of clients, from artisans who advertise their products and services to companies related to the world of textile crafts.” With eyes on the prize – with the end goal of providing others with access to intricate and delicate, bold and beautiful design inspiration and products – Noemí shares, “Our main objective is to value textile crafts as a form of wealth on many levels: economic, social, and spiritual. We want to publicize not only a type of economy, but also a sustainable way of life.” The origins of La Voz de las Costureras comes from a very sweet place. From the heart. “The Voice of the Seamstresses is a very personal project, born as a tribute to my mother and other women like them, who have generated wealth through their know-how and manual skill. An intangible but essential wealth for society,” Noemí explains. On her website Noemí shares this with us, “In this blog I usually speak in feminine because my background is. This tradition that I honor is born and transmitted through the women of my family, both maternal and paternal. And I suspect mine is not an isolated case. I see that this has been a feminine trade – a work around which women have gathered over the centuries, always after attending to their many obligations. I feel that sewing is a delicate work that is not only of necessity, but also of love.” Although she is aware that it isn’t a completely female craft, she is speaking from experience and for the many voices of women out there who enjoy what they do. La Voz de las Costureras comes from a very tender place indeed and, as a result of this, it has caught the attention of many women who have had their skills passed down to them through generations of attentive and creative women. “The Voice of the Seamstresses is a small project that currently does not need more staff for its development. But we are clear that the people involved in the website must have among their values the commitment to sustainability, slow living, and respect for the phases of human life – birth, growth, old age and the notion that no one is left behind for not generating income at any given time. Collaboration vs. competition,” Noemí warmly expresses. Since its inception, this site has built up a brilliant reputation and has widened the spectrum in the community. Noemí believes, “the soul of the page is what distinguishes it from its potential competitors. At La Voz de las Costureras we don't like to talk about competitors, since we believe in collaboration as the axis of the economy. We strongly believe that more wealth – in the broadest sense of the term – is created through collaboration than through competition.” By bringing women together she is weaving the cloth of partnership, appreciation to eradicate the competitive atmosphere that sometimes develops among women. Noemí makes a conscious and heartfelt effort to keep everything moving smoothly for the many women around her that wish to showcase their craft. The pandemic hit a lot of industries hard and has threatened to close down everything that Noemí has been building. Noemí shares, “Morally it has touched us in such a way that we were considering the possibility of closing the website. However, during the pandemic we realized that the values that we spread with our articles had been put into value for social groups that lived on the fringes of this trend. People once again value slow living, individual creation and care as essential values, and that encouraged us to continue. Although at the moment we do not have a future action plan, we continue as we were born improvising day by day.” For the future, she is going to be working hard on becoming a constant in the ever evolving and constantly morphing industry. Contact: Noemí Martínez Company: La Voz de las Costureras Web Address: www.lavozdelascostureras.com