O Totem da Agulha

A symbolic needle-brooch transforming employee recognition into a ritual of care, connection, memory, and quiet permanence.

The Needle Totem emerged from a simple yet profound question: how can a company honor permanence, loyalty, and human dedication without reducing them to numbers, plaques, or corporate formalities? Conceived for Riachuelo as part of a new ritual celebrating its longest-serving employees, the project sought to transform recognition into something intimate, symbolic, and deeply human. Rather than creating a conventional award, the proposal imagined an object capable of carrying affection, memory, and emotional meaning — a gesture that could restore sensitivity to the often invisible rituals of office culture.

At the center of the project is a handcrafted brooch shaped around the image of a needle. The choice of this symbol emerged from an almost forgotten historical detail: before buttons existed, brooches were used to connect pieces of fabric together. The needle, therefore, became more than an aesthetic element; it transformed into a metaphor for connection itself. It speaks of the invisible labor of holding things together — teams, relationships, histories, and institutions. Quietly and persistently, much like the employees being honored, the object symbolizes care as an act of continuity. Each totem was conceived as a unique piece of jewelry created in collaboration with an artist, reinforcing the idea that no professional trajectory can be reduced to a standardized token. In a corporate environment often guided by repetition and scale, individuality became central to the gesture. Every employee received not simply an object, but a singular artifact carrying traces of authorship, time, and intention. The project also proposed a broader reflection on the environments we inhabit daily. Offices are often understood as functional spaces shaped by productivity, yet they are also emotional landscapes where people spend years of their lives building routines, relationships, and memories. The Needle Totem attempts to create a point of contact between institution and individual, transforming recognition into a ritual of presence and gratitude. Through subtlety rather than spectacle, the project reveals how transformation often resides in the smallest gestures. A needle, a clasp, a handmade object — tiny elements capable of repairing, connecting, and holding together entire worlds.