Monique and Ronit her young entrepreneurs graduates of Iberoamerican University of the career of graphic design and industrial design.
Together they founded a project called Fairy. Is a Mexican brand consisting of Bïni: a swing in the shape of hammock swing, created especially for the comfort of the baby.
Bïni’s design allows minors to have a curvature in the back that makes them more comfortable when they give birth. It has a slip-shaped belt that covers the baby’s entire hip to secure it while swinging in Bïni.
It is made of metallic iron, tulle palm which is hand-woven around the bench and the hammock, which is made of cotton fabric, for waste cutting of cotton T-shirts. For this reason, the hammock is made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, materials that are totally environmentally friendly, because this production helps a new use of waste, thus guaranteeing the quality of the products.
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Can be used as baby swing newborns or up to three years. By simple return, it can be used as a bank for up to 14 years.
Monique and Ronit did tests by putting people on the bench and because of this they realized that Bïni can weigh up to 85 kilograms.
“There are dads who use it to sit and read books to their children, to take care of things, to watch TV, among other activities,” says Monique.
Ronit adds: “When I created it, I gave it a specific function of swing and bench, but the reality is that each child uses it differently, depending on their imagination.
“It’s very cool to see how their creativity never stops and expands giving the use they want to Bïni.”
The product has some advantages that other cribs do not have. It is done manually because the techniques of Otomi community, such as blacksmithing, sewing, weaving and embroidery; Also, due to the type of material, as it helps maintain its culture and traditions, it supports handicrafts and is designed so that the baby can adapt as it was in the mother’s womb.
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Besides BiniThe fairy has several baby products, such as plush animals with attachment, which helps the newborn to 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 deals with kits with various items, including a rattle and a plush attachment of their favorite character, all have a range of colors from which to choose which are total customize.
Gather together as a family
Fairy means “moon” in Otomi. She was chosen by Monique and Ronit because when they arrived in the community they realized that night is the most important and special moment for them; After you have had a full day of work, it is in those moments when you can reunite as a family, taking the present month.
All products are handmade by over 12 families of Otomi craftsmen from Dongú, a community located in the municipality of Chapa de Mota, State of Mexico, southwest of the city San Felipe Coamango.
Their main occupation is animal husbandry and agriculture, they also have spinning and weaving techniques that provide finished wool products from San Juan Tuxtepec and Dongu.
In addition, its inhabitants are also dedicated to ceramics and wood processing, which are supported by the city council in favor of the local economy.
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The community has a total population of 2,961, of whom 1,494 are women and 1,467 are men.
Also, 66.4% of the population is indigenous, and 30.1% speak an indigenous language. 0.10% speak an indigenous language and do not speak Spanish.
“More than a crib, Bïni is a hammock. We chose it because we wanted to create something in the form of an envelope so that the baby would feel welcome, just as we felt when we arrived in the community, because they gave us food necklaces, which means that we will never miss it “, says Monique.
The process began because at the Ibero-American University, upon arrival in the eighth semester, they were asked to do a thesis, bringing together different students of textile design, web design, graphics, fashion design and industrial design, in which they had to create a product. .
The House of Higher Education introduced them to the Otomi community and that’s how they came to it, because it was important to use their nouja, which is what they know as skill and techniques of weaving, basking, blacksmith, among others.
They first competed with colleagues in the same salon to choose a single product, where Monique and Ronit’s were selected by a majority vote.
Due to this fact, in December 2017, they came to a contest called I love you, which consisted in raising the economy of craftsmen.
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The young women won first place in this competition at the national level, competing against universities such as Tecnológico de Monterrey, Universidad Anáhuac, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and Universidad Iberoamericana.
Now, between them and together with designers and craftsmen, they complete their work to combine it with the contemporary design of Zäna.
Artisans are responsible for the process of making the swing, starting with weaving and following other techniques.
Remember your roots
One of the craftsmen who are part of the Fairy is Herminio, who combines the blacksmith’s shop with the baskets to give Bïni a base.
He makes basket fabrics because his grandparents used this technique to support the family when Herminio was little.
It has followed the tradition since the age of 14, modernizing it without losing the charm that tulle has, because it is a very Mexican design. In a short time, he learned the technique of blacksmithing so that he could combine it with sewing and make products with a higher value.
Margarita deals with embroidery, mainly in the cross, so that she can give it a mexican design and not to lose the technique of embroidery, which he learned from his ancestors, especially sewing.
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Monique and Ronit came to the Otomi community with the craftsmen who are part of the Zäna family.
He embroiders every day so as not to lose what he has learned from his grandparents; In addition, Margarita teaches her colleagues in the community.
Every otomi embroidery has a meaning, the main themes are the flora and fauna that surround them, which are very important to them. Margarita speaks Otomi as much as she can, to keep her tongue alive.
Claudia is in charge of weaving the stuffed animals and the rattles she handles in the Fairy. She started weaving at the age of 25 due to unemployment and admits that now her work is something she is really passionate about, so she does it with great emotion and affection.
Thanks to the various tutorials she sees on the internet, she has improved her technique and, being part of the Zäna team, helps to fulfill the wishes of all customers, making the personalized pluses a reality, because they can choose their favorite character.
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In order to create Bïni, the collaboration of pediatricians was necessary. Upon receiving their advice, Monique and Ronit found out that if the babies are sitting in a hammock, they feel relaxed with rocking.
It is also a way to help them avoid drowning with reflux, because in Mexico, one in 2,000 newborns in the first year of life, mainly between two and four months, dies from crib syndrome.
In this way, the hammock makes the baby take the same position it had when it was in its mother’s womb, because it is not completely straight, forming a curvature in the back, which also helps children to observe different visual fields on who had them.
For greater comfort, this is the position that babies adopt when they are seated in Binï.
With all this knowledge, the young women have achieved the goal of creating the right product, respecting 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 of artisans.
Monique and Ronit create the idea, and the craftsmen help them to develop it with the techniques and materials already mentioned above.
“We grew a lot as people and as a company, due to this fact we also realized that our creation has a lot to exploit”, mention Monique and Ronit.
Both are very happy, because thanks to their social networks they managed to reach United States of America, 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 several 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 Zäna, starts the maternity stage, so she is very excited to live this experience up close and to be able to use the products that she and her partner created together with her baby.
Ronit talked to universal on her experience with Bïni: “There are different types of pillows that are used to place babies, but they are not so practical, which is why I realized that Bïni helped me a lot.
“There are times when I have nowhere to put my child and I always put him there, I feel that he is very comfortable and cool, because the fabric is thin, it prevents him from giving him even more warmth these times. Also, when I put her to bed, she calms down a lot, she falls asleep, I am very fascinated.
All Zäna production is managed to order, and prices vary and all products can be purchased through them. social media.
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 craftsman is, a short story about their lives and how they started doing their jobs, being in a constant commitment to improve them in terms of techniques, tools and the wide variety of products they handle.