Monique and Ronit her young entrepreneurs graduates of the Iberoamerican University of the degree in Graphic Design and Industrial Design.
Together they founded a project called Zäna. This is a Mexican brand consisting of Bini: a cradle in the shape of rocking hammock, Created specifically for the comfort of the baby.
Bini’s design allows babies to have a curvature on their back when putting babies in bed, which makes them more comfortable. It has a belt in the form of shorts that covers the entire hip of the baby to secure it while cradling Bini.
It is made of metal smithy, tulle palm that is woven by hand around the bench and the hammock, which is made of cotton trapillo, for cutting waste of cotton t-shirts. Therefore, the hammock is made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, materials that are completely environmentally friendly, as this production helps to give a new use to waste, thus ensuring the quality of the products.
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It can be given use as baby cot newborns or up to three years. By simply knocking it down, it can be used as a bench for up to 14 year olds.
Monique and Ronit did tests by putting people on the bench and thanks to that they realized that Bini can hold up to 85 kilos.
“There are parents who use it to sit and read books to their children, get things done, watch TV, among other activities,” Monique mentions.
For his part, Ronit adds: “We, in creating it, gave it a specific function of crib and bench, but the reality is that each baby gives it a different use, depending on their imagination.
“It’s very fatherly seeing how their creativity never stops and expands giving the use they want to Bini.”
The product has some benefits that other cribs do not have. It is handmade because the techniques of the Ottoman community, Such as blacksmithing, basketry, weaving and embroidery; also, for the type of material, as it helps maintain the culture and its traditions, supports craft work and is designed to accommodate the baby as it was in the womb.
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In addition to Bini, Zana has more baby products, such as stuffed animals, which help the baby feel protected and comfortable, being a toy that accompanies him at all times, especially at bedtime.
They also have embroidered pillows, rattles with characters such as porcupine and rabbit, mini towel basket, and also handle kits with different items, including a rattle and a stuffed animal of their favorite character, all have a range of colors to choose, as they are totally customizable.
Gather as a family
Zana means “moon” in Otomi. He was chosen by Monique and Ronit because upon arriving in the community they realized that night is the most important and special time for them; after having a busy day at work, it is in these moments when they can get together as a family, having the moon present.
All products are handmade by more than 12 families of otomíes craftsmen of Dongú, a community located in the municipality of Xapa de Mota, State of Mexico, Southwest of the town Sant Felip Coamango.
Their main occupation is the cattle ranch and agriculture, also have techniques of spinning and weaving that give finished products in wool, of San Juan Tuxtepec and Dongu.
In addition, its inhabitants are also engaged in pottery and woodwork, which are supported by the city council in favor of the local economy.
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The community has a total of 2,961 inhabitants, of whom 1,494 are women and 1,467 men.
Likewise, 66.4% of the population is indigenous, and 30.1% speak some indigenous language. 0.10% speak an indigenous language and do not speak Spanish.
“More than a crib, Bini is a hammock. We chose it because we wanted to create something in the shape of an envelope, to make the baby feel welcome, just like we feel when we get to the community, because they gave us necklaces of food, which means we will never miss it, ”says Monique.
The process began because at the Universidad Iberoamericana, when they reached the eighth semester, they were asked to do a thesis, bringing together different students of textile design, web design, graphic design, fashion design and industrial design, in which they had to create a product.
The house of higher studies introduced them to the Ottoman community and this is how they came to it, as it was important to use their noujau, which is what they know as their skill and techniques of weaving, basketry, blacksmithing, others.
They first competed with colleagues from the same salon to choose only one product, where Monique and Ronit was selected by a majority of votes.
Thanks to this, in December 2017, they came to a contest called AmarteMX, Which consisted of floating the economy of artisans.
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The young women obtained the first place of this contest at national level, competing against universities like the Technological one of Monterrey, the Anáhuac University, the Independent National University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Ibero-American University.
Now, among them and together with the designers and craftsmen, they complement their work to merge it with Zana’s contemporary design.
The artisans are in charge of the process of making the crib, starting with the weaving and following some other techniques.
Remember the roots
One of the craftsmen who is part of Zana is Herminio, who is responsible for combining the smithy with the basketry to give a base to Bini.
He makes basketry, as his grandparents engaged in this technique to support the family when Herminio was small.
He followed the tradition from the age of 14, modernizing without losing the charm that tulle has, as it is a very Mexican design. Shortly afterwards he learned the technique of blacksmithing in order to combine it with basketry and obtain products with greater value.
Margarita is in charge of embroidering, mainly in cross, to be able to give one Mexican design and not to lose the embroidery technique, which he learned from his ancestors, especially that of cross-stitch.
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Monique and Ronit came to the Ottoman community with the artisans who are part of the Zana family.
He barks every day so that he does not lose what he learned from his grandparents; in addition, Margarita teaches it to her companions of the community.
each embroidered ottomans has a meaning, the main themes are the flora and fauna that surrounds them, which are very important to them. Margarita speaks Ottoman as much as she can, in order to keep her tongue alive.
Claudia is in charge of weaving the stuffed animals and the rattles that they handle in zana. He started weaving at the age of 25 due to unemployment and recognizes that now his job is something he is really passionate about, which is why he does it with a lot of emotion and affection.
Thanks to different tutorials he sees on the internet, he has improved his technique and, being part of Zana’s team, helps to fulfill the wishes of all customers, making personalized stuffed animals a reality, because they can choose their character. favorite.
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To create Bini, the collaboration of pediatricians was necessary. Upon receiving their advice, Monique and Ronit learned that if babies are placed in the hammock they feel relaxed with the swing.
It is also a way to help them avoid drowning with reflux, as in Mexico one in 2,000 babies, during the first year of life, mainly between two and four months, die from cradle syndrome.
In this way, the hammock causes the baby to take the same position it had when it was in its mother’s womb, not being completely straight forming a curvature in its back, which also helps children to observe the different fields of vision they have.
For added comfort, this is the position babies take when placing them in Bini.
With all this knowledge, the young women achieved the goal of creating the right product, complying with the needs and comfort of the baby.
So far, they have not received support from any organization or government, they only have that of their family and friends, but mainly that of artisans.
Monique and Ronit create the idea and the artisans help them develop it with their aforementioned techniques and materials.
“We grew a lot as people and as a company, thanks to that we also realized that our creation had a lot to exploit,” Monique and Ronit mention.
Both are very happy because thanks to their social media they were able to reach United States, Having in December 2020 its first sale in Atlanta, and in January 2021, the second in Los Angeles; both were from Bini. Its main objectives are to cover more countries and also to be able to open its first physical store in Mexico.
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Ronit, who is one of the founders of Zana, is starting the maternity stage, so she is very excited to live this experience up close and be able to use with her baby the products she and her partner created.
Ronit talks with THE UNIVERSAL about her experience with Bini: “There are different types of pillows that are used to place babies, but they are not so practical, this is where I realized that Bini has helped me a lot.
“There are times when I have nowhere to put my baby and I always put it here, I notice it very comfortable and fresh, as the fabric is thin, it prevents it from giving even more heat in these hot times. ‘bring her closer, she calms down a lot, she calms down, I’m really fascinated “.
All Zana production is handled to order and its prices vary, and all products can be purchased through their Social Networks.
For Monique and Ronit the most important value is to highlight Mexican customs and traditions, aiming to generate jobs for many families of artisans.
Each product has a card that shows who the artisan is, a brief history of their lives and how they began to make their crafts, being in constant commitment to their improvement in terms of techniques, tools and wide variety of products they handle.