Raízes Cruzadas, by Paula Tavares - From Angola to the world
Paula Tavares is as proud of her adopted country of Angola as she is of being Portuguese. In the many projects she has been and is still involved in, she has always contradicted the idea that many people have that imported products are best, carrying out ideas created and developed in Angola, with Angolan labour and, wherever possible, with Angolan raw materials. Raízes Cruzadas is the name of her interior design project – decorative items and pieces of furniture, with several ranges, designed for different types of environments, while combining functionality with an attractive design, with roots that are markedly Angolan. Roots that have already crossed borders, to show that products made in Angola are high quality and worthy of being anywhere in the world.
Paula Tavares has been in Angola for almost 25 years. «A lifetime!» she tells us. To this we add that this life has been filled with fruitful projects, in which Angolanityis a key element because, despite being Portuguese, Paula has assumed Angola as ‘her own’, struggling daily for its growth.
Of all the projects, an old passion stands out above the rest, that of interior design, which, like her, first came to light in Portugal before being developed here, despite the difficulties. But Paula loves «the Faraway and the Mirage» and anything too easy does not motivate her. And maybe that’s why, when creating her pieces, she has sometimes had to reinvent them, due to the scarcity or absence of raw materials. She could import them and sometimes she has no other choice, but Paula wants, and has always wanted, to fight importation: «you have to show, with pride and dignity, the good things done in this country, the ‘made in Angola’ products».
Raízes Cruzadas is the name of her company and it is not by chance that many of her pieces are made of wood resulting from the clearing of trees, or from dead roots, because Paula does not like cutting trees, preferring to givethem dignity even after death, because «trees die standing!». The project has already come a long way. It involves many aspects and it takes time to train people. O projeto ganhou outra dimensão desde que as suas peças –– complete dining room and living room ranges, headboards and an endless number of decorative objects, in which Angolan roots are clear to see and in which functionality is combined with harmonious design – have now crossed borders and oceans, and can now be found in Portugal, in other European countries and in the USA. The pieces are thought up, designed and developed in Angola and completed in the country to which they exported, «because it does not make sense to import a screw when in the destination country it costs 50 times less». Specialist workers, people trained by Paula, travel with the pieces,and have the mission of completing the pieces in their destination. And in the destination countriespremises with offices, showrooms and cultural spaces have been created, because you have to‘cross roots’, not only in terms of design, but also on a general cultural level. The destination countries enable what cannot be done in Angola, since there are no specialised industries for certain solutions.
Paula has always been a capable person and with her is a team of about 40 people that she is certain are capable. «It can be done and we are able to show that ‘made in Angola’ products can go where we want them to; you just have to wantit!»concludes Paula, determined.
«It can be done and we are able to show that ‘made in Angola’ products can go where we want them to; you just have to want it!».
Text: Maria Amélia Pires