MEET PORCHIA, TEXTILE WORKSHOP’S MANAGER AT LIBRE OBJET

We started making bags thanks to our encounter with Libre Objet. This Strasbourg-based social workshop, which includes a textile workshop, was our neighbor at the time of our first workshop. In 2019, we pushed their door to propose our first idea for a bicycle bag, La Musette. Since then, our respective design and manufacturing skills have evolved with our new products and the challenges created by each of their developments. To celebrate the release of La Grande Banane, we thought you might like to meet Porchia!

She is absolutely essential to our collaboration and to the running of Libre Objet’s textile workshop. We’ll let you discover why in this short interview 🙂

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Hello Porchia! Can you start by introducing yourself in a few words?

Hello! My name is Porchia Mensah, and I’m the technical supervisor in the sewing workshop at Libre Objet.

Can you tell us about your background? How and why did you learn to sew? When did you join Libre Objet?

In Ghana, I took a sewing course at the Ecole de Création et Design, driven by ambition. In 2019, I arrived in France to join my family and integrate into French society. In 2020, I applied to be a seamstress at Libre Objet, which accepted me after a test. At first, my main difficulty was the language. But that didn’t stop me from progressing to become the technical supervisor I am today 🙂

My favorite bag is Le Cabas!

My favorite project since I started working with Manivelle is the Bananadry.

There’s Goharik and Fayaz, a perfect duo for the making of Le Sac à Dos (our backpack). Haitham has a crush for La Musette (he was already at Libre Objet when we made the very first series of musettes in 2019) . The rest of the team follows my instructions depending the projects, to work on the various stations: cutting, sewing, finishing, checking.

Can you share one thing you love to do when you’re at work?

I like managing the workshop, explaining and sharing what I know, and then supporting the whole team in their efforts, when we produce series.

Can you share one thing you love to do when you’re not at work?

Personally, I love to travel. My last trip was to Lisbon, Portugal, and I loved it!

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Thank you very much Porchia for these answers! To extend this exchange, we also share a few words about the importance of this collaboration.

At the genesis of a new product, there’s a drawing and prototyping phase that Silvin carries out at the Manivelle workshop. And as soon as we’ve reached a version that suits us on technical and aesthetical aspects, we make an appointment with Porchia to present the project, discuss its design, future manufacture and details.

Porchia already has an impact on the design. We go over patterns, assemblies and finishing details. The beautiful folding on the side pockets of our Backpack, for example, is her work. The technique for assembling the back and main volume of our hipbag, too.

Once we have validated the design together, Porchia takes charge of making a final prototype to validate the production launch. During this phase, we work together to refine the details of the product, its nomenclature and manufacturing process. Once again, we work as a team, and it’s an absolutely fantastic thing to do. We make a lot of progress through these exchanges!

And then, in daily work, Porchia supervises all our bag production. We’ve been working together for almost 5 years now, and the trust we’ve built up is invaluable. Bravo and thank you Porchia! Bravo and thank you also to the whole Libre Objet team, and we look forward to be back at your workshop very soon to continue the work 🙂