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arlier this month, LOOP Disseny i Circularitat, which is part of the Agencia de Desarrollo Regional de las Illes Balears, presented: “Embroidery, Retrospective and Needlework Design,” at 110 Inca. The initiative brought together five leading designers on the island with four embroiderers, to create a design or series of designs that would value the beauty and tradition of this technique while showing how it can be applied in a more contemporary way. Embroidery has been a craft passed down through generations in Mallorca, typically among women, and today it is considered part of the cultural patrimony of the Balearics. Whether for tablecloths, family heirlooms or clothing, embroidery has told stories and added beauty for centuries. Today, the tradition is slowly dying out, as the demand fades, so do the people who know the techniques and can do it. LOOP Brodats is an important step in helping preserve this craft and its makers, and hopefully spark new ideas among younger generations.
The exhibition included clothing, footwear and art works made by Datura, Edicions de Disseny LPM, Carmina Shoemaker, Cecilia Sörensen, Open Studio 79 and Chiara Ferrari Studio, with specially designed embroidery made by Francisca Moyà, Miquela Ballester, Catalina Trias and Magdalena Trias. There were ten different types of stitching used including: brodat mallorquin, punt de cadeneta and punt de nusos. The embroiders worked with the designers to find the stitches that might best connect with their ideas. Some were subtle and muted while others were more stylised and made with bolder colours.
