Local crafts  include laces, other fabrics, ceramics, pottery and baskets.

Lace

Lace-making arrived in Brazil with the first Portuguese women who came from Portugal and the islands of Madeira and Azores. Their husbands or fathers were fishermen and they settled on the coast in northeastern Brazil and on the island of Santa Catarina in the south. Most lace-makers (rendeiras in Portuguese) are still the wives of fishermen, justifying the popular saying that "where there is a fishing net there is lace." In fact, in the filé laces characteristic of Alagoas in northeastern Brazil, it is usually the fishermen who make the nets that the women will fill with geometrical or floral designs. The most famous of all Brazilian laces is the "renaissance" or "Irish" lace made in the coastal village of Pesqueira in Pernambuco.

Lace Illustrated

Weaving

Woven products include shawls, rugs and hammocks. Further details here...

Ceramics and Pottery

The best known pottery in Brazil comes from different areas: the Amazon region, Pernambuco and Bahia in northeastern Brazil, and Minas Gerais and São Paulo in the South. Each has different characteristics, according to the type or color of the clay utilized and the designs and decorations, which vary greatly from place to place. They are usually made by hand, even though the wheel may be used for large vessels. In the famous valley of the Jequitinhonha River in Minas Gerais, for instance, the clay is white or yellowish and the figures are often in the shape of trees, animals or people. The potters of the valley of the Paraíba River in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are known for their elaborate Nativity scenes, religious images and the depiction of people going about their daily chores. In Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, artisans reproduce regional scenes and characters in a reddish clay that is often painted with bright colors.

Also, pottery from a great store in Rio de Janeiro called Andanças and a fabulous store in Salvador, Bahia, Coisas da Terra, and pottery from the superb collections of Instituto Mauᡠof Bahia.