From Vases to Verses: Belo Barro Negro by Jorge Braga

September 3, 2024
By: Jorge Braga, Paula Holtheuer, and Jason Khoo

At Origin Made, we have always celebrated the design visionaries and skilled artisans behind our creations. Today, we are humbled to shine a light on an unexpected source of inspiration - Sr. Braga, our dedicated and unassuming gardener who tends to our studio's grounds.

Sr. Braga's words in "Beautiful Black Clay" offer a fresh perspective on our Barro Preto Charred Vases collection, seeing these vases not just as objects of design, but as purposeful pieces in harmony with nature. His poetry serves as a powerful reminder that beauty and creativity flourish not just in our products but in the very environment we cultivate, nurtured by the people and nature that surround us.

This serendipitous moment of inspiration and unexpected gift of poetry sparked our curiosity about his background and with some prodding, Sr. Braga shared that his journey as a published poet began in his youth (he has two published anthologies of poems), but it wasn't until 1986 that he felt his work was worth preserving. "I started writing when I was very young, and it was only in 1986 that I started to feel that I had something of quality to keep."

For Sr. Braga, poetry is a deeply personal process, a union of his internal and external worlds. His approach to writing is instinctual, with much of the creative process happening subconsciously. In many ways, Sr. Braga's philosophy of writing parallels his approach to gardening, where the simplest actions can create profound beauty. His poetry, like the gardens he tends, is a reflection of his inner world, shaped by years of quiet observation and thoughtful care. And just as his poetic words add depth to our appreciation of the Barro Preto Charred Vases, his hands have tended to the plants and blooms that complement our vases, thus Sr. Braga has become an unwitting collaborator in the full expression of their beauty.

As we place the Barro Preto Charred Vases in homes and spaces around the world, we carry with us this renewed sense of gratitude; gratitude for the designers and artisans who bring our visions to life, certainly, but also for the often-unsung heroes like Sr. Braga, whose daily efforts create the perfect stage for our designs to shine.