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I am Marta Cucchia, designer and weaver.
Using thousand-year-old weaving techniques mixed with the knowledge I attained in my design studies, I enjoy creating eclectic new fabric lines, with original stylistic and chromatic combinations.
The Church of San Francesco delle Donne is, today, a deconsecrated building; but in 1200AD it was the first Franciscan church in Perugia. Over the centuries, its name—San Francesco delle Donne—has remained consistent: it initially was a convent for women, then a spinning mill that only employed women, and today it hosts our hand-weaving workshop, run by women for four generations. Since 1996, the hand-weaving workshop of Giuditta Brozzetti—my great-grandmother and founder of the atelier—has been based in these magnificent premises, and today it is one of the last places in Italy to practice hand-weaving.
In 2004, the Atelier was included in the museum system of the Umbria Region, therefore becoming a tourist attraction while continuing its production activity.
We have always stood out for our faithful decorative motifs inspired by the Umbrian tradition, but also by frescoes, ancient fabrics, and paintings.
This is the initial phase of the work process: the preparation of the warp and weft. It is set up with a machine that was modified by Leonardo da Vinci, according to a system that is more than 500 years old. It is a very intricate and time-consuming technique; just consider that to assemble a new warp on our largest loom—which has 3600 threads—it takes 20 days of work.
I think it is very important to know the art of weaving, because it opens up the doors to a world that is now unknown of gestures, memories, and passed-down words; but also because it is an art that is tied to any culture, to any Italian region, even if just in the figures of speech.
For example, “fare la spola” (to go back and forth, like a shuttle), “tutti i nodi vengono al pettine” (all knots will meet the brush, as in your sins will find you out), and “il filo conduttore” (the common thread) are all figurative expressions that refer to the world of weaving: there is so much to learn and so much to discover.
THE STORY |
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| I am Marta Cucchia, designer and weaver. Using thousand-year-old weaving techniques mixed with the knowledge I attained in my design studies, I enjoy creating eclectic new fabric lines, with original stylistic and chromatic combinations. The Church of San Francesco delle Donne is, today, a deconsecrated building; but in 1200AD it was the first Franciscan church in Perugia. Over the centuries, its name—San Francesco delle Donne—has remained consistent: it initially was a convent for women, then a spinning mill that only employed women, and today it hosts our hand-weaving workshop, run by women for four generations. Since 1996, the hand-weaving workshop of Giuditta Brozzetti—my great-grandmother and founder of the atelier—has been based in these magnificent premises, and today it is one of the last places in Italy to practice hand-weaving. In 2004, the Atelier was included in the museum system of the Umbria Region, therefore becoming a tourist attraction while continuing its production activity. We have always stood out for our faithful decorative motifs inspired by the Umbrian tradition, but also by frescoes, ancient fabrics, and paintings. This is the initial phase of the work process: the preparation of the warp and weft. It is set up with a machine that was modified by Leonardo da Vinci, according to a system that is more than 500 years old. It is a very intricate and time-consuming technique; just consider that to assemble a new warp on our largest loom—which has 3600 threads—it takes 20 days of work. I think it is very important to know the art of weaving, because it opens up the doors to a world that is now unknown of gestures, memories, and passed-down words; but also because it is an art that is tied to any culture, to any Italian region, even if just in the figures of speech. For example, “fare la spola” (to go back and forth, like a shuttle), “tutti i nodi vengono al pettine” (all knots will meet the brush, as in your sins will find you out), and “il filo conduttore” (the common thread) are all figurative expressions that refer to the world of weaving: there is so much to learn and so much to discover. | |
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