In Las Piedras –where the current President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, began his political career–, Gabriela Martínez started working in leather, and in the middle of the pandemic she opened her business; perhaps it was the affinity for that Canarian town, or the taste for country objects that led the president to visit Gabriela at the Sembrando stand at Expo Melilla, where she exhibited her craft products, and from where she took a gift : a holland leather keychain.
Gabriela saw the President of the Republic in person for the first time at the exhibition of the Rural Association of Uruguay.
After his tour of the exhibition of the Rural Association of Uruguay (ARU) -on the day of its inauguration-, Lacalle Pou left with several gifts, one of them being that keyring, which is part of the collection of leather objects, such as handbags, accessories, wallets, mate holders and rugs, which Gabriela produces by hand and sells under her brand Mucca –which means “cow” in Italian–.
Until now, Gabriela had never seen the current president in person, so her visit was very gratifying.
The president left the stand with a handmade gift.
A knowledge of another life
The entrepreneur is a native of Canelón Chico, and although she now lives in the city of Las Piedras, the field carries it in the bloodassured to The Observer. Before the pandemic, he had not worked with leather, nor did he know how to treat it, but he was learning as he went. “It is what many of my friends do not understand, how out of nowhere I started to make a handmade bag. It was something that you see I had in a past life”, he commented.
The first thing he did in leather was an envelope, designed, cut and sewn by hand. In the midst of the pandemic, and with the need to have an extra income, he was encouraged to undertake, he went to the Fazakas tannery, invested in the raw material and began to produce.
Years ago he studied Veterinarycareer in which he studied a subject called Ethnology, in which he learned about the breeds, coats and coat colors of the different cattle that exist in Uruguay, for this reason, when going to the tannery, finding the right stains for the products what you want to do, it’s easy.
Analia Pereira
Leather wallet from the Mucca enterprise.
In his products he only works with bovine leather. Some of the breeds he works with are Holland, Shorthorn, and Jersey. And one of the challenges he has faced is being able to make customers understand that, just as each animal is unique due to its genetics, each spot is also unique, which means that each handmade piece is unrepeatable.
Analia Pereira
The handmade key chains made of leather like the one that Lacalle Pou took as a gift.
“The countryside has always captivated me, now I live in the city but the countryside is my getaway. And I love leather, it seems to me a noble material that takes me to the countryside and to my roots.”, he affirmed and stressed that “everything that is made of leather is eternal”.
As he explained, the products are easy to maintain. The cloaks or rugs can be washed with a neutral soap, even in the washing machine, and dried in the shade. Also, if the bags get stained in any way, they can be washed with a damp cloth and rinsed in the same way. “Hair will never come out, it is a product that lasts a lifetime, it is also made with a lot of love, and as a craft, each piece is like a small part of one that is delivered,” he said.
Analia Pereira
Gabriela’s entrepreneurship was born in the midst of a pandemic.
The seed of entrepreneurship
After being encouraged to undertake Gabriela met the sowing programpromoted by Lorena “Loli” Ponce de León, and, as he highlighted: “The benefits that entrepreneurs have and how it drives us is impressive.”
Within the framework of this program, she took a business administration course and came to sell at different exhibitions, for which she is very grateful, she said. Now, looking towards the future, she plans to continue working at Mucca, a project that has become her main source of employment.
Analia Pereira
Gabriela selects the leathers to make her products.
