Isabella Frongia

Weaver

©Francesco Cocco

©Dario Sequi

©Serena Sannia

©Enrico Tola

The slow rhythm of weaving

Isabella's hometown of Samugheo is world-famous for its weaving
She has been featured in the New York Times
Her master was her mother, Susanna

“I have breathed weaving since I was a child, in a country where the textile tradition was, and still is, very deep-rooted,” says Isabella Frongia. In the early 1960s, her mother opened her first weaving workshop, where she welcomed and trained a multitude of young women. The workshop was part of Isabella’s house, so the immersion in the world of looms and yarns was inseparable from daily life. “At the age of ten, I was already sitting at the loom, looking around me and experiencing the magic of warp and weft thread,” she recalls. Her teacher is her mother, Susanna. From her, she learned all the techniques and secrets of weaving. And still today, at the age of 88, Susanna weaves precious traditional cloths on the ancient loom and supervises the workshop’s activities.

Interview

©Francesco Cocco

©Enrico Tola

Do you still remember your first creation?: I was 12, and I created a saddlebag sling, a typical textile accessory of my land. Although so much time has passed, and I was little more than a child, I will never forget the emotion of having completed something with my hands and my mind.
How do you adapt ancient traditions to the 21st century?: I like to experiment, and I always try to combine traditional patterns with new materials or traditional materials with new designs. What fascinates me is that the techniques, whether you want to create a traditional or an innovative product, has been the same for hundreds of years.
What are your trademark techniques?: They range from the most common, known as 'pibiones' (or grapes, which they resemble) and 'tela liscia’ (plain weave), to 'tauledda' (fibres laid over multiple weft thread to create a pattern) which is the oldest technique in which my workshop specialises. All this is done on purely manual looms.
What do you love most about your job?: The slow rhythm of weaving, dictated by the loom – but also by the energy of my body. Each work is born from the harmony between me and the loom, which is why I could never give up hand weaving, as it gives me the opportunity to get in touch with so many people.

Isabella Frongia is a master artisan: she began her career in 1980 and she started teaching in 1985