Owantshoozi, Create or die!

OWANTSHOOZI

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Text: Christine Holmes Photos: Mito & Pierre Leibar
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Just as manure helps roses grow, remarkable treasures can sprout from the most unlikely waste materials. But it takes a sharp eye and Owantshoozi’s know-how to spot them and reveal their potential.

After their studies (Master’s at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne for her, Bachelor’s with the Melkweg Award at Eindhoven Design Academy for him), the brother and sister decided to create their brand.

When the time came to give the brand a name, they leafed through the Basque dictionary from A to Z and, surprised at not finding a name that struck the right note, Ddiddue exclaimed “Owantshoozi!” They need look no further! This exclamation was now the name of the family brand.
And this name fits them like a glove as surprise is the very essence of Owantshoozi. It’s the kind of surprise they like to unleash on others, but above all it’s the kind of surprise they seek to bring to life, again and again, in their creative process.

Indeed, Juana and Ddiddue are big kids with a mischievous eye: the children of a father who was a champion of culture and a mother who loved fashion; the grandchildren of a grandmother, who ran a grocery shop in what is now their current workshop in Ordiarp; but also the children of Soule, the wildest province in the Basque Country – in the best sense of the word, of course.
Far be it from them to indulge in unfathomable, folkloristic Basque mythology. These two are deeply rooted in modernity. Nevertheless mythology is firmly anchored in their soul, like the tattoo they sew onto the skin of Kautera, a character from the Souletin masquerade, giving the Basque tradition a pop-culture makeover.

At the mercy of materials
Juana and Ddiddue have not established any hierarchy of materials. For them, rubber is no less valuable than gold or silver, no better than stone. Because value comes not from the materials themselves, but from the way we look at them. As genies of the lamp, they grant the wish of the rubber boot that dreamed of becoming a cap, the parachute canvas that wanted to be a handbag or the public transport floor tile that already saw itself at the top of the shrub, as a birdhouse.
Both the meticulous artisans roll up their sleeves to make needles and scissors dance: they do everything themselves, from the design to the needlework, from collecting the scraps to putting the finished items in the shop.

Ddiddue and Juana swim against the tide of consumerism and disposability. They’re ready to save anything they can get their hands on to give it a second life. Like Mary Poppins and her bag of tricks, they manage to squeeze a boot, tractor inner tube and parachute canvas into a single cap.

Robust levity
Juana and Ddiddue are not reluctant when it comes to racking their brains and having a good laugh. In their opinion, true wisdom consists in nurturing one’s madness. Their latest creation is clear evidence of this. The four cushions, created with delicate stitching, illustrate the four elements through an endless thread that outlines fine, intricate designs on recovered canvas. But the attentive observer will notice that the wind is represented by flatulence and water by an ample and abundantly squirting femme fontaine.

This humorous audacity, which adds an extra dimension to Owantshoozi’s work, also highlights Juana and Ddiddue’s humility: their creations never seek to provide answers but rather to raise new questions.

And they don’t see the customer as a passive recipient of finished objects.
For example, their birdhouses, made from public transport floor tiles, are designed as jigsaw puzzles that anyone can assemble at home, without nails or screws. In this way, these generous designers choose to share the thrill of the creative process with the buyer.

Decorated accessories
If they could have told their grandmother that hats and accessories created in her old grocery shop would win them Chanel and Hermès awards, she would probably have found it hard to believe (would she have exclaimed ‘owantshoozi!’?). Yes indeed! Distinctions are flying thick and fast for Juana and Ddiddue. But they don’t have time to let this fame go to their heads. True to their nature as hard-working and tireless artisans, they got back to work without missing a beat.

Away from the spotlight, they have used these awards to nurture their creativity, working with Chanel workshops, discovering new machines and even equipping themselves with them, so that they can work again, work always, work better, without ever getting bored.

Because, as they say, “Sorkuntza ala hil!” (Create or die!).

“Ombuaren Itzala”, or in the shadow of Otaño, the bertsolari

“Ombuaren Itzala”, or in the shadow of Otaño, the bertsolari

Text: Christine Holmes Photos: Ombuaren hitzala
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With the support of public participation, this film has returned the cultural heritage bequeathed by Otaño to the Basque people.

“Ombuaren Itzala”, made by actor and director Patxi Biskert, aims to raise awareness of the life and work of the bertsolari (improvisational singer) and poet Pello Mari Otaño Barriola (Zizurkil 1857 – Rosario, Argentina 1910).

Although Otaño occupied a place of honour in Basque culture for a long time, this once-leading figure gradually fell into oblivion. The film, produced by Eguzki Art Zinema, aims to revive the memory of Otaño and pass his works on to younger generations.

Origins and development of the project
Patxi Biskert has been working tirelessly for many years to bring the film “Ombuaren Itzala” (in the shade of the ombú tree) to life. To finance the project, he set up a large-scale collective and participatory process, involving citizens, municipalities, cultural associations and the educational network. The project, which came about thanks to institutional support and ticket pre-sales, has been shown around the Basque Country since November 2024.

Content and plot of the film
The film is set between 1889 and 1910, Otaño’s most productive years. At that time, he emigrated with his family to Argentina, where he wrote many poems and bertsos that would make him famous among the Basque diaspora. Phytolacca dioica, commonly known as the ombú, is a remarkable tree that grows in the Argentine Pampas. It inspired Otaño to write one of his most recognised poems, which made it a symbol of nostalgia linked to exile.

“The film “Ombuaren Itzala” adds to our collective memory, by highlighting the figure of Pello Mari Otaño and his contributions to Basque culture.”

Production and distribution
The film was shot in Zizurkil and Argentina, Otaño’s two main places of residence.
It was previewed at the church of San Millan in Zizurkil on 30 November 2024, in the presence of its director Patxi Biskert, lead actor Joseba Usabiaga and other actors and operators who participated in the project.

It is currently on tour in several towns in Hegoalde, the Southern Basque Country. Although no date has yet been set for a screening in Iparralde, the Northern Basque Country. Let’s hope we will have the opportunity to see it in our cinemas soon.

Moreover, the film will not stop at the cinema doors. As a fitting return, the documentary has been designed to be shown in other community and cultural venues in the Basque Country and used in schools in the region.

The film “Ombuaren Itzala” adds to our collective memory, by highlighting the figure of Pello Mari Otaño and his contributions to Basque culture and putting them in the spotlight they deserve.

This documentary is also further proof of the strength and solidarity of the Basque community in preserving its cultural heritage. Le film « Ombuaren Itzala » vient alimenter notre mémoire collective, en repéchant la figure de Pello Mari Otaño et sa contribution [CH : contributionS ???] à la culture basque pour les mettre sous la lumière qu’elles méritent.

Otaño wrote at the end of one of his bertsos, “I am motivated by the desire to help the Basque language. The subjects available to me are modest, I have very little to say, but I will happily spend my nights, days, weeks and holidays on it. My brothers, I ask you for a small place in the Basque Country”.

Ama euskerak hau esan zidan
jarririk begi alaiak.
Horregatikan nakar honera
berari lagundu nahiak.
Gutxi nezake, oso txikiak
dira nik dauzkadan gaiak,
bainan pozkiroz egingo ditut
gauak, egun, aste, jaiak;
leku pixka bat Euskal Herrian
eskatzeizuet anaiak.

(…)
Thanks to Patxi Biskert, Eguzki Art Zinema, and the operators and citizens involved, the place of Otaño is now assured in the Basque Country so dear to his heart.