INTERVIEW #96 MARIE CASTRO
Based in: São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation: craft content creator and tech entrepreneur
Get inspired by: All forms of art! I am a huge fan of cinema
Instagram: @mariecastrodiy
Hello Marie, who is Marie Castro?
Marie Castro is a Brazilian DIY content creator and entrepreneur. At just 15, she began her studies and experiments in the world of fashion, textiles, and craftsmanship, and after spending some months working as a stylist for boutique department store Daslu, she went on to enter her textile collections in both Fashion Rio (Rio Moda Hype) and Dragon Fashion Brasil. She also participated in the touring exhibition Movimento Hotspot, which passed through a total of 13 Brazilian cities, and her pieces have been sold across Japan, Brazil, and Europe.
She was one of the winners of the YouTube NextUp Rio 2017 contest, an initiative to help boost the platform's most promising channels. She is recognized worldwide among the crochet community and has over 700K followers between Instagram and YouTube. She continues to grow her business as an entrepreneur in the world of craft, exploring new methods for creating artisanal clothing.
What’s your relationship with clothes?
It's a way of expressing myself, showing my art, my feelings. For me it is a form to be myself everyday and inspire other people to do the same.
How would you describe your style?
Colorful, cheerful, versatile, tropical, urban street and fun! I love combining colors with a touch of street style. I was born and I grew up in a big city here in Brazil (São Paulo) and I always try to combine clothing that fits this lifestyle. Hopefully I live close to a park as well, so I have nature and the big city around me everyday and I find a strange balance with these opposites.
Any favorite items?
Yes, I love colorful dresses. It feels very comfortable and unique to go full crochet/handmade in a look. And if you combine it with sneakers it's a perfect look to a busy day!
Your crochet creations are amazing, how did you learn how to crochet?
It all started during my childhood, my mom was into knitting, crocheting, cooking, painting and a lot of crafty activities! I was eight years old at that time, just a baby!
Where do you find inspiration?
Since I live close to a park I think I get very inspired by the colors of nature. Flowers and plants in Brazil are very diverse and It helps me to always get inspired. I am usually connecting to my feelings while I create a project and I try to express all the complexities into a crochet form.
And where do you source the yarn from?
I have a partnership with Círculo S/A here in Brazil. They are amazing and they have all the kinds of yarn an artisan needs to create. I am usually a big fan of 100% cotton yarn.
What is a sustainable closet for you?
Especially made by my own hands and not by exploited labor... That is durable, fits and combines in many different ways.
What do you think about the fashion industry in general?
More than 10 years ago I used to work in a big label here in Brazil, once you learn all the processes it's very sad to see how fashion became something complicated, sometimes even immoral in a way. Exploiting labor, using non sustainable materials and creating a lot of issues to our environment every single day.
Of course, there are small local and very aware labels, and it's good to see this movement of sustainability getting more notable. And also to watch people caring less about the processes behind their clothing since they are getting more information is very satisfactory. But still there is a long way to go, for all of us.
Your best advice and tips to someone who's wanting to learn how to crochet or knit?
Be patient with your learning process and don't be afraid to go out of the box. It takes time to really understand all the patterns and stitches but it's very empowering to be able to do your own clothing with your own hands!