Bazaar: Meet the makers - UASHMAMA

We asked the lady responsible for bringing UASHMAMA downunder, Casey Languillon to tell us the whole story behind these washable paper bags...

Where do I start, UASHMAMA is so incredibly special to me it’s more than just a brand/products it is my entire life. I started working with the Marconi family (creators of UASHMAMA) 4 years ago when I asked to buy a a couple of boxes of their washable paper bread bags (our original product) to sell to some friends who owned restaurants.

This led to a Sunday market stand at the Bondi markets which started the wholesale part of our business today we supply over 150 little boutique stores in Australia and New Zealand.

UASHMAMA (pronounced wash-mama) uash being a play on words for wash and mama meaning mother in Italian the heart of the home as well as MAMA being the initials of the creator Marco Marconi.

Marco started UASHMAMA with Emanuela his wife and four daughters Chiara, Giulia, Gemma and Gaia (in that order). It really is a true family business with sisters, husbands, cousins, cousins of cousins working for UASHMAMA both in Bondi and Montecatini in Tuscany.

The simple designs our paper bags for instance are all sewn in the homes of Tuscan women and men, today we employ more than 40 local people who sew for us; a community of sewers. The more sophisticated designs (our handbags) get made in and around Florence.

Montecatini is the most incredible place; not a lot of tourists, a complete hidden gem. It is famous for it's Terme, the Spa which is meant to have natural healing qualities.

A lot of people think our paper is recycled, it’s not, we have to start with a raw cellulose fibre to achieve the paper quality we need to make our products however we purchase our paper from paper farmers who cut and rejuvenate their crop.

See more about UASHMAMA HERE!

Shop the washable paper bags HERE!

xx TBP