Monique and Ronit hair young entrepreneurs graduates of the Ibeoamerican University of the career of graphic design and industrial design.
Together they founded a project called ZänaIt is one Mexican brand consisting of Bïni: a cradle in the shape of swinging hammockspecially made for the comfort of the baby.
Bïni’s design ensures that, when laying newborns, the minors have a curvature in the back which makes them more comfortable. It has a belt in the form of a slip that covers the entire hip of the baby to fasten it while he swings in Bïni.
It is made with metal ironwork, tulle palm which is hand woven around the sofa and the hammock, which is made of cotton, for cutting waste of cotton t-shirts. For this reason, the hammock is made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, materials that are completely environmentally friendly, as this production helps to repurpose waste and thus guarantee the quality of the products.
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It can be used as crib for babies newborns or up to three years. By simply turning it over, it can be used as a sofa for up to 14 years.
Monique and Ronit did tests by putting people on the couch and realized that Bïni can carry up to 85 kilos.
“There are dads who use it to sit and read books to their kids, grab things, watch TV, and do other activities,” says Monique.
Ronit adds, “When we created it, we gave it a specific function of crib and couch, but the reality is that every baby uses it differently depending on their imagination.
“It’s really cool to see how their creativity never ends and expands through the use they want of Bïni.”
The product has some advantages that other cribs do not have. It is handmade because of the techniques of the Otomi community, such as blacksmithing, basketry, weaving and embroidery; Also, because of the type of material, as it helps to preserve the culture and its traditions, it supports craftsmanship and is designed so that the baby accommodates itself as it was in the mother’s womb.
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In addition to BïniZäna has more baby products, such as stuffed animals, that help the newborn feel protected and comfortable, because they are toys that always accompany him, especially before going to sleep.
They also have embroidered pillows, rattles with characters such as porcupine and rabbit, a mini towel basket, they also handle sets of different items including a rattle and a stuffed animal of their favorite character, they all have a range of colors to choose from that be total adaptable
Come together as a family
Zäna means “moon” in Otomí. It was chosen by Monique and Ronit because upon arrival in the community, they realized that the night is the most important and special time for them; After a full day of work, it is in those times when you can reunite as a family and keep the moon present.
All products are handmade by more than 12 families from Otomi craftsmen from Dongú, a community in the municipality of Chapa de Mota, Mexico state, southwest of the city San Felipe Coamango
Their main occupation is animal husbandry and agriculture, they also have spinning and weaving techniques that yield end products in wool, from San Juan Tuxtepec and Dongu.
In addition, the inhabitants are also committed to pottery and woodworking, 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 which 1,494 are women and 1,467 are men.
Likewise, 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.
“Bïni is more than a crib, it is a hammock. We chose it because we wanted to make something in the form of an envelope so that the baby feels welcome, just as we felt when we arrived in the community because they gave us chains of food, which means we will never miss it ” , Says Monique.
The process started because at Ibero-American University, upon reaching 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. create a product.
The house of higher studies introduced them to the Otomi community and that’s how they joined, because it was important to use their noujau, which they know as their skill and techniques of weaving, sunbathing, blacksmithing, among other things.
First, they competed with colleagues from the same salon to choose just one product, with Monique and Ronit’s selected by majority vote.
Thanks to that, they came to a contest called in December 2017 Love you, which consisted of increasing the craftsmen’s economy.
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The young women took 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 they complement their work among themselves and together with designers and craftsmen to merge it with Zäna’s contemporary design.
The craftsmen are in charge of the crib making process starting with weaving and following some other techniques.
Remember the roots
One of the artisans that is part of Zäna is Herminio, who is in charge of combining blacksmiths with baskets to give Bïni a foundation.
He makes basket weaving, as his grandparents used this technique to support the family when Herminio was little.
Following the tradition since he was 14 years old, modernizing it without losing the charm of tulle as it is a very Mexican design. Shortly afterwards, he learned the forging technique to combine it with basketry and obtain higher value products.
Margarita is responsible for the embroidery, mainly in crotch, every single one Mexican design and not to lose the embroidery technique he learned from his ancestors, especially that of cross stitch.
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Monique and Ronit came to the Otomí community with the artisans who are part of the Zäna family.
He embroiders every day so that he doesn’t lose what he learned from his grandparents; Moreover, Margarita teaches it to her colleagues in the community.
Each Otomi embroidery it has a meaning, the main themes are the flora and fauna that surrounds them, which are very important to them. Margarita speaks Otomí as much as she can to keep her language alive.
Claudia is in charge of weaving the stuffed animals and rattles they use in Zäna. She started weaving at the age of 25 due to unemployment and recognizes that now her job is something that she is really passionate about, which is why she does it with a lot of emotion and affection.
Thanks to several tutorials he sees on the internet, he has improved his technique and, as part of the Zäna team, helps fulfill the wishes of all customers by making personalized plush toys come true, as they can choose their favorite character.
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To create Bïni, the cooperation of pediatricians was required. After getting their advice, Monique and Ronit found out that when the babies are placed in the hammock, they feel relaxed with the rocking.
It’s also a way to help them avoid drowning from reflux, since in Mexico, one in 2,000 newborns dies from Crib syndrome during the first year of life, mainly between two and four months.
In this way, the hammock ensures that the baby takes the same position as when he was in his mother’s womb, as he is not completely straight and forms a curve in his back, which also helps children to perceive the different fields of vision. to have.
For greater comfort, this is the position babies adopt when placed in Binï.
With all this knowledge, the young women achieved the goal of creating the right product, in accordance with the baby’s needs and comfort
Until now they have not received any support from any organization or the government, they only have that from their family and friends, but especially that of artisans.
Monique and Ronit come up with the idea and the craftsmen help them develop it with their techniques and materials already mentioned above.
“We have grown enormously as a person and as a company, which also made us realize that our creation could be exploited a lot,” say Monique and Ronit.
Both are very happy because they were able to reach thanks to their social networks United States, with the first sale in Atlanta in December 2020 and the second in Los Angeles in January 2021; both were from Bïni. 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, one of the founders of Zäna, is entering the motherhood phase, so she is very excited to live this experience up close and to be able to use the products that she and her partner have created with her baby.
Ronit spoke to THE UNIVERSAL about her experience with Bïni: “There are different types of pillows that are used to place babies, but they are not that practical, because I realized that Bïni has helped me a lot.
“There are times when I don’t have a place to put my baby and I always put it there, I feel it is very comfortable and cool, as the fabric is thin, it cannot give it any more warmth in this hot time Even when I put her to bed she calms down a lot, she cradles herself, I’m really fascinated.
All Zäna production is handled to order and prices vary, and all products can be purchased through them social media
For Monique and Ronit, the main value is to emphasize Mexican customs and traditions, with the aim of creating jobs for many families of artisans.
Each product has a map showing who the craftsman is, a short story about their life and how they started making their crafts, constantly improving them in terms of techniques, tools and the wide variety of products they handle.