Sonparo: Weaving Dreams Between the Echoes of Barcelona and the Wild Heart of Sardinia
In a world that rushes ever forward, there are those who rediscover the beauty of the slow gesture, of creation born from hands and heart. This is the story of Sonia, known in the vibrant social universe as "Sonparo," a weaver and designer who has embarked on a fascinating, almost predestined journey from the architecture of interior spaces to the architecture of the soul, woven thread by thread. A native of cosmopolitan Barcelona, her life is a canvas painted with the colours of passion, a path that saw her leave a promising career to answer a deeper calling, ultimately finding her haven and her muse on the enchanted island of Sardinia.
"My first love was the design of spaces," confides Sonia, her voice evoking the same delicacy as her creations. A graduate in Visual Arts and Design with a specialization in Interior Design, she dedicated years to shaping environments between Germany and her native Spain. But within her, like a melody whispered by the wind, a different echo was growing. "At 28, I felt the irresistible call of pure creativity," she recounts, "an almost physical need to sculpt material with my own hands, to feel the breath of colour and fibre." And so, weaving entered her life, not as a mere hobby, but as "a daydream, a door to a world where heart and hands could finally dance in unison."
This encounter was a true "enchantment." It was 2018 when Sonia began to attend her first workshops, discovering a universe that fascinated her more each day. "I still remember the emotion," she says, a tremor in her voice, "the wonder of discovering how simple threads could transform into narratives, into textures laden with meaning." Passion, once ignited, blazed, leading her first to the Escuela Textil Teranyina in Barcelona, to learn the ancient art of high-warp tapestry, and then to an intensive two-year course in Textile Art at the prestigious Escola Massana. "There, amidst ancient looms and contemporary visions," she explains, "I began to weave not only threads, but my own artistic voice."
The culmination of this formative journey was a thesis project that revealed itself as a true declaration of love: an in-depth study of Sardinian textile art. "Oh, Sardinia!" Sonia sighs. "Its textile craftsmanship appeared to me like a sunken treasure, rich in symbols and an austere, powerful beauty." In 2021, the island became her open-air laboratory. Immersing herself completely, she designed and brought to life a collection of rugs, collaborating closely with an artisan workshop in Samugheo, a village that guards a centuries-old tradition. "Working side-by-side with local artisans, listening to their stories, seeing the wisdom in their hands... it was like falling madly in love. Not only with Sardinian weaving, but with the entire island, its light, its scents, its people."
From this visceral love, from this indissoluble bond with the Sardinian land, "Sonparo" was born. A name that is a poem: Sonia and "paro," the loom in the Sardinian language, but also a "shelter" (riparo), a creative nest. Having moved permanently to the island that had bewitched her, she began to share her passion through weaving courses. "Sonparo is my dream of weaving a bridge between the echo of Sardinian traditions and the language of modernity," she states with gentle firmness. "It is an intimate space where hands learn an ancient art, but above all, where the value of a creative gesture, which is also an act of love towards beauty and history, is rediscovered."
Looking to the future, Sonia's eyes shine with a serene and determined light. She dreams of Sonparo growing, transforming it into a beacon for anyone wishing to approach this magical art. But, above all, she yearns to continue her personal artistic research, "to explore, to experiment with threads and colours, to create works that are fragments of my soul."
Through Sonparo, Sonia not only teaches a technique but transmits a philosophy: that of an art form that is about listening, patience, and a deep connection with one's roots and the surrounding world. It is an invitation to rediscover the poetry hidden in simple gestures, and the timeless beauty of a thread that, guided by skilled hands and a passionate heart, transforms into a story, into emotion, into pure art.
