Textiles of the Soul
I, Moon, want to tell you a story I watched from the sky, one night over the land of Chiapas.
The women of the village were weaving as they did every afternoon—quietly, focused. On their fabrics, they embroidered figures their grandmothers had taught them: keys, stars, eyes, hands. They said these symbols protected those who carried them, kept darkness away, and opened the heart to love.
That same night, a traveler arrived from Spain. He carried a worn notebook full of drawings he’d made since childhood, without knowing why: a moon, a heart, a sitting dog, a solitary mountain. He said that drawing them brought him peace.
When he saw the women’s embroidery, he froze. He felt he had arrived at a place he already knew, even though he had never been there.
“These drawings,” he said with surprise, “they’re like mine. But older.”
The women invited him to sit. They didn’t speak the same language, but he, an experienced embroiderer, picked up a needle, and that was enough. The women would begin a figure, and he would finish it almost instinctively. Then he would start one, and they would follow. No one asked questions. They simply stitched.
As they worked, the air seemed to shift. The fabric looked unusual, almost as if it were breathing. The threads, under my light, shimmered faintly. A stitched dog seemed to blink, a star sparkled. It wasn’t trickery or illusion—it felt as if the embroidery was revealing things that had always been there.
“And these symbols?” he asked. “What do they mean?”
“They protect the ones we love,” one of the women replied. “And remind us that love needs its own shield.”
They looked at each other in silence. He had drawn the same things, without knowing. He did it to calm his mind. So did they. Two different paths toward the same peace.
That night, they finished a cloth where all the symbols coexisted: the moon and the star, the dog and the key, the mountain and the hands. It didn’t look like embroidery, but a map. Not decoration, but protection.
The traveler left with a piece of that cloth under his arm. And since then, those textiles have traveled hand to hand. Some keep them under their pillow. Others carry them in their bag. People say they help keep the heavy things away—and let the good ones in.
I can’t say for sure. But I saw it. And sometimes, that’s enough.
Process
For our latest Collaboration, Spanish artist Aitor Saraiba returns to Loona following his successful participation in our Collaboration 31.
This time, he joins forces with Dos Tierras, a platform that showcases contemporary artisanal design in Collaboration with craftswomen from Chiapas, to present three exclusive art pieces for Loona.
Aitor describes his bond with Loona as “a gift from the universe and the game of fate,” as he told us in an interview. This second Collaboration represents a continuation of the work we started together, now evolving into new artistic expressions.
On his first trip to Mexico with us, Aitor shared his view of art as “a form of personal healing and a search to understand my place in the world.” Now, after working with communities in Chiapas for this second project, he has created three pieces that reflect that transformative experience.
“It was an inner journey, not just a physical one. That was definitely thanks to Loona and their sensitivity toward textiles and their way of relating to the environment. Chiapas gave me so much more than I could have imagined—the women, their designs, their stitches—they stayed with me in my heart,” he told us about this recent experience.
The pieces that make up this Collaboration were born from a shared creative process, with half the work in the hands of the Chiapas craftswomen and the other half completed by Aitor himself. “It’s a process I’ve been doing for many years now—in Spain, I do it with ceramics from my hometown, Talavera. And when it’s born, it’s beautiful because you never know where it’s going to go. It’s a living creature shaped by a group of people, without ego, just with love and patience.”
This way of creating has led Aitor to discover that beyond cultural differences, there are invisible threads that connect us as human beings. “There’s an invisible thread that binds us, that makes us brothers and sisters. I definitely felt that while embroidering in Chiapas and working with the women there,” he shared.
In the embroideries of this collection, Aitor aimed to capture “above all, what unites us. Leaving aside what may seem to separate us. Focusing on symbols and iconography that both cultures could interpret. Creating a dictionary of symbols that matched and complemented each other, evoking a time that may seem to belong to the past, but that our present deeply needs.”
The artist sees in art and craftsmanship the very essence of our humanity: “It’s the mark we leave on time, allowing us to study the past, understand the present, and imagine the future. Cultures are built through art and craft. Without them, we wouldn’t be who we are.”
The three pieces in this Collaboration are embroidered “in a language older than time, one written somewhere among the stars, and that we’ve somehow translated without even trying.” The artist hopes those who encounter this Collaboration “will know how to read it with the eyes of the soul.”
To him, projects like this one prove that artisanal and collaborative work “is the future—the only way to save the planet. To stop searching for calm. To pause the frantic pace of capitalism.”
And this is just the beginning. Looking ahead, Aitor is already preparing for a third Collaboration with us, set to begin in May 2025, which will take him to explore Michoacán. “It fills me with emotion. I love Michoacán’s embroidery, its way of telling stories, its colors and stitches. I’ve always felt that this narrative style resonates deeply with all of my work. I believe something beautiful will come out of this journey.”
This Collaboration is yet another reflection of Loona’s commitment to artists like Aitor Saraiba, who understand the value of handmade work, the respect for tradition, and the importance of building cultural bridges through art.
Collaborators
AITOR SARAIBA
Aitor Saraiba, an artist in drawing, textile art, and ceramics, has exhibited his work from Los Angeles to Tokyo, including Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Africa, and Spain. A notable author of “El hijo del Legionario” and “Por el Olvido,” he received El País’ ICON award in 2022. A collaborator with renowned museums such as the Prado and Thyssen, he is recognized for revitalizing traditional artistic techniques.
Shop the collection
AITOR SARAIBA
We are delighted to present four unique pieces, the fruit of the second collaboration between Aitor Saraiba and artisan communities in Chiapas, in partnership with Dos Tierras organization, which makes this encounter of respect, listening, and collective creation possible.
Each piece has been woven on a pedal loom in San Andrés Larráinzar, embroidered in detail in Chenalhó, and finished in Cantabria by Aitor. Three territories that come together in a common gesture: of creating with care, patience, and mutual commitment.
These works are born from a deep respect for the craft, for the time it takes to do things well, and for the hands that transmit history in each stitch. They are pieces that speak of true collaboration, of trust between those who create, and the value of walking together slowly, but with purpose.
Each piece is art. And the root, tied to the earth. From Chiapas and Cantabria, with the strength of memory, the beauty of collective work, and the hope for a more humane present.
All four pieces will be available in our shop. They are unique and unrepeatable: a testament to discovery, patience, and love.
Nosotros Tienda Colaboración actual Términos y condiciones
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