The becoming of Bucha

                 

            When I understood that this cucumber cousin     

           holds the sponge I have seen in bathrooms

            all over I decided to grow Bucha in our pergola.  

Bucha or Luffa cylindrica   was first described by 

Carl von Linné , but received the name  

from Johann Jakob Roemer.

Said and done. Bucha growing in the pergola.   

All plants  gave fruit apart from the  one that were cut 

down  by misstake (I hope) by our  Gardiner...  

When the Bucha is fully grown and ripe   

it is harvest time. 

The seed pod  just inside the green  peel is 

what we want to harvest unharmed. 

The seed pod is then cut open and washed clean

and all the seeds are removed . 

After drying in the sun and  cleaned again  the magic

 sponge material is ready to be used. 

My thought was to create a new shape  

using  pieces of the

 Bucha seed pod as well  

as well as whole  ones. 

Working at the veranda at Casa da Ilha

 I  stocked up on dried Bucha seed pods. 

By sewing the pieces of the Bucha together  with a  

green organic cotton tread I am starting to   learn  what  this

 sponge material is capable of.

I like sewing by hand and used a simple 

type of stitching that 

secures with  knots for durability. 

Sometimes sitting in the garden 

on a blanket stitching. 

A new form is slowly being born. 

A hat type of shape. 

The cut pieces of the Busha I  

will use  as well. 

No waste of any kind  preferably. 

A hat shape (or a sea urchin?) 

that I was born I  

want to   build a stand  

or  you  could call it a hanger  

attached with LED light this   Busha 

hat will become a  luminescent  

hat or we can call it a lamp. 

'

Really in love with 

this organic material 

and the possibilities 

it has.   

Bucha at sun set. 

Bucha in the morning. 

Hat is Chapéu in  Portuguese, 

could be a good name. 

Bucha - Chapéu seen from 

above or from underneath 

if you hang it in your ceiling. 

Time to cut the green thread or 

umbilical cord if  you may. 

The becoming of Bucha. 

The workshop  on the 

veranda where I  

have been cutting ,

 sewing and creating. 

I mean is it not fantastic 

what you 

can create from 

organic materia, 

right?

To create interior products with no negative 

impact on our planet is the idea. 

This is a good suggestion so far. 

Stay in touch! 

Jimmy 

EARTH DAY 2021

EARTH 🌍 DAY 2021

Celebrating with EARTH NEWS 

- the ”zero-waste house by Mario Cucinella Architects & WASP in Ravenna, Italy that proposes a new form of 3 D printed house made from raw EARTH 🌏 mass-produced, biodegradable housing according to London based Icon Magazine. 

Let’s celebrate the waters&oceans of our planet the coming 365 days. After having my worst worries confirmed by @seaspiracy we owe about 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth's water. To care about our oceans is caring about our selves. We are all made of water. 

Let’s keep it that way. Together. 

#earthday2021 @earthdaynetwork

Life in Brasil > The week in Penedo

The front and back of the bamboo sofa structure leaning against the veranda wall. 

We talked about in for almost a 

year and this week it 

came to pass : 

Our Bamboo Furniture Workshop. 

After cutting and drying 

the bamboo, 

Carpenter Rick Viola 

have started the work 

with a rustic sofa. 

the veranda roof of Casa da Ilha



The fresh vegetable market
by the river
in Resende is
open on sundays. 

 Tomate de Arvore or Tomatillo 

and Jilo are new for me. 

There are a lot of new tastes and textures to try.   

'

Masked outside the tiny Airport. 

We came by an old airport 

from the 1940

 in the middle 

of Resende 

that is used mostly 

for small 

private planes and 

sky divers of all kinds. 

Airport from the 1940´s in Resende. 

Every week there is a 

new flower or plant 

I discover in the 

garden at Casa da Ilha. 

Bastao do Imperador or Torch Ginger has become a favorite to photograph..

The Garden here at Casa da Ilha 

is huge

 and there is always 

something new to discover. 

Tomate de arvore on the black ceramic plates outside the
kitchen veranda where the pumpkins grow. 

Bamboo Furniture Workshop at Casa da Ilha.

When the sofa structure is ready 

I will enforce the joints with sisal 

rope more for design reasons, 

is the idea. 

We will see how that 

will work out.

Started the Textile, Color and Details Update textile face

 with hanging the just made curtains at 

Hotel Pequena Suecia on wednesday 

evening in 30 degrees celsius was a good workout. 

Hanging curtains at 330 cm height

The terrace at Blekinge room 13

Blekinge room 13 at Pequena Suecia

By simplifying the color choices and creating a painted headboard with a wooden frame. A new back pillow was constructed along with the semi bed cover and new curtains to match. 

Our first room is a test to see what strategy to use in the coming over individual designed 20 rooms we will update slowly but surely. 

Room Blekinge 13 Pequena Suecia

An open fireplace in the bedroom. 

Room Blekinge has a living 

room and a bedroom as well as a 

small roofed terrace and a mini garden. 

Bucha in a bamboo basket

The veranda is where the 

action is but 

Branco 

manage to lounge anyway. 

most of the time...

Bamboo connection

A week with work at the hotel as well as learning so much about bamboo is really a dream come true. I am so lucky to have found work here in Brasil that I love to do.

 Below you see Bucha pods that have been 

cleaned at the lay in the sun to dry. 

In the shade at the veranda you see the 

Bamboo result of our Furniture Workshop.

If I can create what I would like from this 

sponge material that Bucha is I 

am going to be very content. 

The plan is to make a 

type of organic pendant  

design using Bucha 

as the main material. 

Stay in touch 

Wishing you a good 

week from Penedo, 

Jimmy 

Bucha drying in the afternoon sun. 

 

Life in Brasil >The week in Penedo.

Our cats Cattis and Branco love the green metal chairs. 

The 20th of April it will be exactly one year 

ago I arrived in Penedo,Brasil.

 

Yes I insist spelling Brasil in Português. 

Penedo is a small city in the Mountains 

2 and a half hour drive 

from Rio de Janeiro where my 

husband and I live and work since 

April of last year. 

And yes. 

We are more thankful for having both 

work and a home in times like this. 

Outdoor shower by the sauna

It took a long time but 

finally the sauna 

is all done. 

Our Sauna is in function at last

We built from scratch and insisted in trying to upcycle a 

steel container into a sauna wood fire stove. 

It was a bit troublesome and we 

made misstakes ,which we now 

have corrected thanks to our Blacksmith. 

Now the stones are in 

place on top and we 

fire up almost every 

night. 

We now have fall in Penedo and 

winter is coming. 

Winter means lower 

temperatures at night and in 

the mornings especially since 

we are in the mountains at 

1000 meter above sea level.

So a sauna comes in good use.  

Borboleta is butterfly in Português. Yes I am learning a new language

All of the insects and animals and plants 

that I encounter for the first time is endless.

The Bucha plant cut open below is part of a 

new organic product project.

Planted and now harvesting, 

cleaning and drying 

Bucha 

called Luffa Cylindrica. 

Outdoor indoor feeling 

in the living room in our home in 

Penedo at Casa da Ilha, 

which is what we call our home and studio.  

Working with a art project where the Ampula family and I 

are creating a gallery space for the art of Eila Ampula. 

The art carpet on the wall in our living room in brown is 

created by Eila Ampula. Slowly we work towards 

being able to open when the Pandemic allows 

in the old Studio 

now owned by Ampula family. 

Over our living room sofa you see a corner of a
Eila Ampula art carpet
 at Casa da Ilha 

Lighting a lot of candles 

right now. 

Do you?

 

A dream came true 

in performing 

our show 

Nossa Bossa at 

Jazz Village Penedo. 

Nossa Bossa is Sanny Alves, 

Marlon Mouzer and I. 

Started a Color, 

Textile and Details Update 

at Hotel Pequena Suecia. 

Check my insta for 

more @jimmyschonninghem

Let's have a good week 

Stay in touch

Jimmy

Jimmy Schönning showreel part 1