Rosa Malva is Mané Pupo, a project to be lived and to fall in love with.
100% Portuguese,100% handmade,
Rosa Malva reclaims History and the stories of daily life through objects overflowing with tenderness, reminiscences and movement permitting  what really matters –
love and joy - to be celebrated over and over, anywhere at any time.

Mané Pupo is a grown woman but deep inside she is just a child that is made of passion. 
She lives to fall in love. She falls in love to live. And anything is a trigger for passion, people, objects, ideas, words and senses.
Mané takes it all in, into her inner universe and there she creates her reality, beyond the reach of the law, the bias and the conventions of Man.
Still her work is not the mere mirror of this inner world, it is instead the bridge that links both the worlds she inhabits, otherwise she might get bored.

MY PROCESS
 

                    I have inside my head a myriad of images playing about. They are memories of the body and of the heart, dreams and longings and even fears as well.
                    Once in a while, when I invite one of these images to leap into my hands, a new piece in Rosa Malva collection is born.
                  There are no sketches, plans or doodles. My hands express directly in the clay that tiny piece of me that is about to be shared with lots of people. During the modelling process there are certainly technical details that have to be taken into consideration, to allow for the smooth running of the ensuing stages.
                    Once the prototype is ready, I am joined by the cast maker who is going to produce the first mould so we can determine which details need fine tuning. The next step is to create a matrix from which a few moulds are made to begin production. Due to the clay nature of the moulds, they eventually get worn out and need to be replaced. When in use, each mould can only produce three figurines a day.
                      Slip is poured into each mould through a tiny hole. After a few hours the mould is open and the ware is tipped out. The next step is to trim the edges with a kind of a small knife and a water soaked sponge to tidy up the imperfections.
                    Once fully dry, it sits in a kiln for long hours at high temperatures. When the oven is open and the pieces (now bisque) are finally cold enough to be handled, they are double checked before being colour glazed either by spraying or immersion. After the glaze is dry, they go back in the kiln for the second firing.
                     The whole thing takes several days.
                     It is finally time to add the tags and our darling bows and their ribbons, so the pieces can be packed and stored.
                    Our pieces are handled by many hands, each one of them with plenty of care so that every single piece is packed with tenderness to do what it is supposed to do - to celebrate Joy and Love with those who receive it.