Luisa Estévez & Óscar Montero

Belategui Regueiro

Weaver

©O.M.Lasagabáster

Weaving tradition with innovation

Luisa and Óscar create colourful textiles on traditional looms
They make contemporary fashion and interior design accessories
Their products combine natural fibres and recycled materials

Luisa Estévez and Óscar Montero started weaving on wooden handlooms in 1986. Thanks to a scholarship, they learned this craft from master weavers and made it the axis of their lives. In 2004 they created their brand, Belategui Regueiro, using their mothers’ surnames. It was a tribute to them, and to all the women of Galicia, who have left their mark on this trade. Today, they make fashion and interior design accessories such as shawls, foulards, bags, blankets, curtains and tablecloths, as well as more artistic pieces such as tapestries and textile sculptures. Made from fibres such as linen, alpaca, silk and bamboo – sometimes combined with recycled materials such as neoprene from wetsuits, rubber bicycle shells or reused leather – they are ecological pieces that everyone wants to wear or simply show off.

Interview

©O.M.Lasagabáster

©O.M.Lasagabáster

How would you define your craftsmanship?: It is a manual, creative and sensorial work. Belategui Regueiro was born out of our love of loom weaving and our interest in designing harmonious, comfortable and timeless pieces. Our work is designed for anyone who seeks to express what is inside them through their clothes.
How does your craft relate to where you live?: We are fortunate to live in a rural area, surrounded by the beautiful Cecebre reservoir, the Mero river and the O Burgo estuary. In Galicia, many still remember the women of the families weaving blankets on looms from the wool shorn from their own sheep and the flax grown in their own gardens. We are lucky that people now bring these pieces to us for restoration.
How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?: We weave on wooden looms, as has always been done in Galicia. We combine traditional natural fibres (such as wool and linen) with other less conventional fibres (such as alpaca, bamboo and neoprene). Our sustainable, slow and small-scale production allows us to reduce our environmental impact.
Could your craft be considered endangered?: There has always been a small group of people who have valued our work. In recent times, the public and fashion brands have shown a renewed interest in our craft. We believe that the media and social networks, being a window to the world, have something to do with this interesting phenomenon.

Luisa Estévez & Óscar Montero are master artisans: they began their career in 1986 and they started teaching in 2005