Tapistelar: From Trees to Weaves

Samuel Santiago Hoyos (EXEC PROG 15) and Giovina Carabba founded Tapistelar, a textile studio in Colombia. 

Tapistelar designs and works with a team of master artisans in Colombia to produce rugs. “Each carpet is unique and made to measure for each client. They are hand woven with Colombian agave and pure copper, steel and brass threads.” 

The brand is all about tradition. The couple drew inspiration from Samuel Santiago Hoyos’ grandfather, who used agave fiber to package coffee for his export business, and from Giovina Carabba’s ancestors, who had a textile activity in Abruzzo in the 15^th century. And agave is a fiber extracted from the leaves of the local Furcraea tree, used since pre-Columbian times to weave ropes and baskets.

This heritage also has a sustainable dimension. “Furcraea can be used as soil protection and water storage, and is harvested only from the outer leaves of the plant, so it can continue to grow. The residual organic matter from the pulp is used as fertilizer for other crops (fruits, beans, potatoes). Each plant lasts up to 30 years.”

Tapistelar does not only care about the environmental impact but also about the ethics of production. “The Furcraea industry in Colombia supports approximately 60,000 low-income families.”

Find out more:
tapistelar.com

Do you want more content? Join us now so that we can keep bringing you news about the ESSEC network.