Campus Craftsmen Show Their Skills     Back to JOUR440

by Vince Scott

Knitting hats and scarves might not sound like the traditional job to most American men, but for Marcos Abregú, it's a way life.

The 27 year-old, who lives in Florianópolis, Brazil, spends six to eight hours a day selling his wares on the campus of UFSC. Abregú said he learned the craft from his wife, who occacionally joins him at the stand.

“She is pregant right now, so I´m here much of the time by myself,” said Abregú, a native of Córdoba, Argentina. He said it can be slow at times, “but if you work hard you can survive.”

The act of knitting itself is an attraction that helps draw customers in—especially a man and wife duo. Their table is laid out with handmade scarves, hats and other knitted items in various colors and sizes.

The Abregú couple and their knitted wares

“A person might see a scarf or something they like but its not the right size or color-- we can do it for them,” Abregú said.

The couple even offer lessons.

VARIETY

But knitted hats on the spot are not the only crafts and vendors to be found on the UFSC campus.

Willy Mesones, who also sells his wares along the walking paths of UFSC, makes a lot of his own jewerly, learning the trade while growing up in Peru. He has been in the vending bussiness for eight years and prides himself on his eye-catching displays that pull customers in.

“My friends and I learned the craft of jewelry making in Peru when I was teenager as a way to make money. A lot of people do that there,” Mesones said.

Mesones shows off his hand-made jewelry

Various rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants adorned 6 ft. high and 4 ft. wide display boards. He also has a velvet umbrella completely covered with assorted rings made mostly from silver.

“Some days can be slow, but Wednesdays are nice because of the music on campus. That's usually my best day,” Mesones said. Live music or art performances every Wednesday at noon draw hundreds of students to the main UFSC campus quad.

HAGGLING  FOR THE RIGHT PRICE

UFSC bussiness law student Carolina Duarte said the prices are fair and you can always work out a deal.

“They let you haggle over the price and they will usually come down a little, most of the stuff is not that expensive anyway,” Duarte said.

But twenty year-old journalism major Elaine Almeida disagrees.The second year student grew up in São Paulo, where she said things are a lot cheaper.

“Many of these guys go to the 25 de Março district in São Paulo and buy alot of this stuff cheap, bring it here and sell it for twice the price,” Almeida said. “I think its to expensive”, she added.

Haggling is often part of the process

The vendors do not need licences or permits from the school or the city. And there are other items for sale, such as hand-carved wood ashtrays, incense and candle holders, wood bracelets and necklaces.

Both Abrugú and Mesones said they also work sometimes on the beach at Mole and Barra da Lagoa, two small tourist attractions on the island-city of Florianópolis. And both are also musicians.

“If all else fails, I just pull out my flute or zampoñe”, Mesones said.