Araceli Iranzo moved from the busy town of Madrid to the island of Mallorca and fell in love with the beautiful and serene craftsmanship of palmetto weaving in Capdepera. It is a small town in the island where a group of ladies, some over 90, gather daily to weave palmetto. They call themselves Ses Madones de sa Llata. It is with them that Araceli organised the first workshop and wove her first fan. For centuries, this town has been a hub of palmetto craftsmanship, but as is often the case, their products needed to be revisited to today’s taste. In 2009, Araceli started commercialising her new designs under the name Antic Mallorca. Every basket is woven following the traditional method, but colours, shapes and uses follow a new, free, contemporary, and creative path.
In 2018 with the support of Ses Madones, Araceli with two more craftswomen started making workshops to teach this craft and to contribute to maintaining it alive. As the project became well receiving, Araceli decided to open an arts and crafts school in 2021, called La Escuela Artesana. Her close collaboration with other craftsmen and women has allowed her to acquire a deep knowledge of the island’s traditions and so the school will teach not only palmetto weaving but also other local crafts.
Antic Mallorca
