Yolanda Andrés

Embroiderer

The thread of memory

Yolanda has embroidered since she was six years old
She translates her ideas through threads and stitches
She aims to convey warmth and authenticity in her work

The story of Yolanda Andrés is similar to many other artisans: a childhood passion developed into a profession. She began to embroider at the age of six and has never stopped. The women of her family – mother, grandmother, aunts – were her first teachers, handing down their love for the craft. From northern Spain, her family also manufactured textiles, especially linen, so that was the first fabric Yolanda used. Over the years her studies in painting and graphic design, as well a course at Lessage in Paris, allowed her to nourish and refine her craft. Ten years ago the little girl who began this craft by embroidering cherries opened her very own workshop.

Interview

Does embroidery bring back happy memories?: Thanks to embroidery I am connected to DNA that has been passed down to me by generations of women. I grew up surrounded by thread, yarns, ribbons in my mother’s haberdashery, and I will never forget those sunny summer afternoons, embroidering and chatting with friends, aunts, sisters…
What inspires your work?: Besides my memories, I love to watch people in the street and in the Rastro Market in Madrid, with its mix of colours. I also like to listen to different noises in the street, although when I embroider I need to be by myself and immersed in silence; silence reminds me of the village I grew up in.
What materials and techniques do you use?: Traditional embroidery with cotton and silk threads. I like to mix stitches and create special colour combinations. I use linen and canvas, but also any old fabric I can get hold of. For me, the most precious thing would be to find a long forgotten box full of threads and a bunch of old canvas bags!
You also embroider portraits of people. Who are they?: I do know some of them, however I also work on commission. All I need is high resolution pictures of them. The portraits are life-size; it takes me a month and a half to make one. After spending so much time with their face I wonder who this person is, where they live, what their house is like...

Yolanda Andrés is a master artisan: she began her career in 1996 and she started teaching in 2012