A Jewellery Artisan’s Mexico City Hideaway

Photography by Ana Laframboise

This week we are welcomed into the Juárez creative haven of Marta Marginet Miguel. Her jewellery project, Miguel, is created with the intention that every piece is as unique as the wearer. We see this approach echoed in her home & workshop, a tranquil and inviting space decorated only with objects of beauty and meaning. Formerly the lodgings of tobacco company workers dating back to the 1900's Marta shares this unique residence with husband Ernest who also originally hails from Barcelona. Amidst a soundtrack of children's laughter and birdsong, Marta has penned an interview that, like the artisan herself, is profound and deeply inspiring - we are honoured to share it on the Journal.

On Marta's unique home...

“We arrived in México three years ago, and since then, this house has been our home. Ernest and I are from Barcelona, but before coming to Ciudad de México, we lived for over ten years in Buenos Aires. Our hearts were in Argentina, and leaving our life there was tough, especially saying goodbye to our friends.

“But this house embraced us and healed our nostalgia.

“The building we live in is quite unique. Built in the early 1900s for the workers of an old tobacco company, It takes up almost an entire block and is crossed by three private passages. We live in one of them.

The building we live in is quite unique. Built in the early 1900s for the workers of an old tobacco company, It takes up almost an entire block and is crossed by three private passages. We live in one of them.

“I’m from a seaside town near Barcelona, and even though I’ve lived in two enormous cities for many years now, I still seek that small and simple life I know I need, and that’s what I’ve found in this building. It’s a very peaceful and poetic place; I always have the doors open, and I can hear the birds and the children playing in front of our home. In the morning, I take my coffee and sit for a while by the fountain outside one of our windows, letting the sun warm me. My neighbors pass by, and we greet each other; if we have a moment, we catch up on how our week is going.

“Just a block away there’s a market, and a couple of times a day I go out with the excuse of getting something I need. I pass by the taco stand on the corner, always surrounded by people, I hear the music from the man selling costumes at the market entrance, and greet Roberto from the tire shop. Rosita always gifts me a piece of fruit when I buy her beautifully arranged vegetables. I find so much tenderness just walking one block from home.”

On Marta’s bedroom…

“It’s a very quiet and peaceful room, and that’s what I value most in the space I dedicate to resting. Next to our bedroom we have a patio with some plants, and opening the door in the morning to feel the fresh breeze of those early hours helps me connect with the day ahead.”

On objects/spaces of significance…

“As an artisan myself, I feel very fortunate to live in a country with such abundance and cultural richness, with ancient artisanal traditions that are still alive today and have been passed down from generation to generation.

“Since we arrived in Mexico, we’ve been lucky enough to visit Oaxaca a couple of times. There’s a village in the Mixteca Alta called Santo Domingo de Tonaltepec that works with clay in a very unique way. The expressiveness of their pieces, decorated with oak pigment, moves me deeply. Each piece is unique and precious. 

“But if I talk about special objects, I should also mention my workbench and my tools. Having the workshop at home does me good. I deeply resonate with that traditional idea of craftsmanship where personal life and work life intertwine throughout the day. It feels easy and natural. 

“Here is also where I welcome those who want to get to know my work. I find it beautiful that they can come home and see where I live.”

As an artisan myself, I feel very fortunate to live in a country with such abundance and cultural richness, with ancient artisanal traditions that are still alive today and have been passed down from generation to generation.

On her journey to becoming a jewellery artisan…

“Actually, my professional career began as an Art Director in Advertising, but luckily, there came a moment when I realized that my pace and the way I understood the process of making had nothing to do with that world, and I turned to craftsmanship. It was in artisanal practice that I truly found myself—patience, slowness, dedication. After experimenting with various crafts, I eventually arrived at jewelry.

“A few years ago, and quite casually, I started experimenting with a very unusual way of working silver where I shape the metal while it’s melting, in that in-between state of liquid and solid. It’s a magical process that has captivated me ever since. Working with fire is raw, powerful, delicate, intuitive and honest. Each piece I create is unique, and what I feel while making them is unique as well.”

On what inspires…

“My grandfather was a carpenter. He had his workshop in the garden of the house where I grew up. I loved watching his tools and his wise, rough, sensitive hands that could build anything. He was calm, simple and austere.

“Everything my grandmother did was with care and dedication. She sewed, embroidered, knitted, and cooked. She carefully selected the ingredients and cooked them with precision to preserve their purity.

“I suppose I learned what beauty is from them.

“And then, of course, folk art and folklore, austerity, intuition, tenderness, and Latin America.”

On the inception of Miguel…

“Miguel is a very personal project, an intimist space I created so I can dedicate myself with deep commitment to my practice. On my own terms, at my own pace. 

“As an artisan, I need time to create with dedication, so the project naturally took shape around that rhythm. It might seem trivial, but when I realized I didn’t have to follow anyone else’s pace, everything finally began to make sense.”

On the Miguel wearer…

“I think they are someone sensitive and curious who, despite how small my project is, and how little I advertise or showcase it, somehow finds me and takes the initiative to write to me, to visit my workshop, or to order one of my pieces from the website. It’s something beautiful how all that effort somehow ensures that whoever comes to my home is always someone special, with whom I share many connections. Many of them end up becoming my friends, and everything just falls into place.”

Whoever comes to my home is always someone special, with whom I share many connections.

On her local area…

“We love our neighborhood. Just a short walk from where we live is La Ciudadela. On weekends, elderly people from all over the city gather there to dance danzón. It’s such a tender scene. Spending a little time there brightens my entire week.”

On what’s next…

“We just came back from spending part of the summer with our families in Spain. Returning to the Mediterranean always fills me with energy and inspiration, so I’m coming back to México with a thousand sketches and the desire to create new pieces.”