MannyMansterCortes

Wood working from my home studio Sculpture has always been my favorite mode of creation and expression. Since I started working with wood in undergrad, I have explored furniture making. Working from home is the best. In Brussels, I am lucky enough to have a good sized apartment with the love of my life. I have space for my mind to vomit love creations onto the world. The pieces I create can’t be bigger than my doorways… unless they are completely demountable… So the size of any wood work I do in general is pretty manageable and will fit any sized room =) Sheep and furniture = dissatisfaction Customization is important to me. A custom piece of clothing, furniture, bike and tech gadget is always better. The world is filled with sheep. I’d like to give people the chance to feel less sheep-like and more like human beings.  The last sentence can somehow be mean-spirited and what I mean by it is simple. I found myself in a consumption loop, constantly thinking I needed something new. I am almost certain I am not the only one who suffers from this sheep-mentality. You get what you pay for and IKEA is […]

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MannyMansterCortes

The early sewing years Extra Medium has been “in the works” since 2008. Back then I used to make party outfits with and for my friends. I began sewing with a machine I “borrowed” from my mom for years. I had this machine in my apartment for years, whenever my mom had a sewing project, she would contact me asking to bring her machine for the weekend.  Long story short, it was my machine for years, until I gave it back to her when I moved to Brussels (I’m still a spoiled brat). I would sew mostly pants and bags out of found fabric, or bedsheets. I would take fabric from thrift stores and the occasional trip to Joan’s for the extra special fabrics that would complete the most eccentric outfits. The birth of a clothing label In 2011 a group of friends and I got to talking about my clothing. We discussed what the brand would be called if ever I made it big.  This conversation continued and eventually rolled into a brainstorm of names. One of them was so absurd, yet so perfectly fitting. For the record, the clothing I sew is and has been custom made. So […]

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