La Cosita Chula, a platform co-founded by a Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship alumna, is participating in the Inédito 2020 exhibition.

By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

A functional design project of La Cosita Chula, an innovative platform that promotes the Mexican artisan industry and cofounded by EGADE alumna Mónica Camacho, was selected to participate in the sixth edition of Inédito, within Design Week México 2020.

The piece, called “Tríada Cobata”, comprised of three utilitarian objects and three hanging lamps, was made with lava stone, and laminated stainless steel by artisans from Tlajomulco, Jalisco.

The creation, which measures 70 centimeters at the tallest point and weighs 60 kilos, represents the power of women and their importance in society across three generations, drawing inspiration from the colossal Olmec “mother culture” sculptures of Mesoamerica.

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“This expression of our country’s talent, which combines innovation and tradition to perfection, reflects our feeling towards Mexican women, the cornerstone of our society,” explained Camacho, a graduate of the Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

La Cosita Chula is a platform for over 100 artisans in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacán, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Chiapas, which seeks to develop and professionalize the artisan industry in Mexico.

Inclusive workplace practices and social impact strategies enable artisans to market their arts and crafts in formal markets, thereby ensuring that they receive a fair price.

Camacho commented that, for the past four years, La Cosita Chula has focused its efforts on driving fair trade for Mexico’s artisans, who usually live in vulnerable situations given the industry’s informality, impacted by replicas, foreign imitations, and haggling.

At present, the master artisans work with diverse techniques, such as copper, openwork clay, black clay, palm leaves, stone, Huichol beading, and Talavera pottery.

Camacho remarked that, last year, the platform achieved a double-digit growth in business, giving artisans a 30% profit margin, which is far above that of informal markets.

The La Cosita Chula piece exhibited at Design Week México 2020 is competing for the Inédito Prize, worth 80,000 pesos, or one of the eight honorable mentions.

This work of art can be viewed in the Inédito 2020 exhibition, which will be open until February 8, 2021, at Espacio CDMX Arquitectura y Diseño.

Admission to the exhibition is free. Visitors can book in advance here.