We visited Belén Vilanova’s studio in Mataró to talk about tufting, textures, and the need to reconnect with handmade processes.
Some spaces do more than produce objects — they create experiences. Places where time seems to slow down and where the process becomes just as important as the final result. In the center of Mataró, Borrissol Creatiu has become a creative refuge for people looking to experiment, create, and reconnect with handmade practices through tufting and contemporary textile techniques. Behind the project is Belén Vilanova, an artist and maker deeply passionate about materials, textures, and everything that can be built by hand. After years working within the worlds of art and photography, she felt the need to create a shared space where creativity could be experienced in a more tangible, open, and human way.
“Borrissol was born from the desire to create a creative refuge in the center of Mataró.” The studio’s name is no coincidence. “Borrissol” refers to the small fibers that float through the air when working with wool and textiles — a poetic image that also reflects how ideas slowly begin to take shape.
Belén first discovered tufting while experimenting with photographic interventions for an artistic project. She was immediately drawn to the technique’s visual strength, immediacy, and direct relationship with materiality. There is something magnetic about watching a drawing transform, within just a few hours, into a tactile and volumetric surface.
“There’s something magical about it: in just a few hours, you can watch a drawing become a tactile, three-dimensional piece.”
Every piece begins with a sketch. The design is transferred onto the frame and, thread by thread, built using the tufting gun. Then come the less visible stages: gluing, trimming, carving, and final detailing — the processes that ultimately give each piece depth and character. It is precisely in these finishing touches where the craftsmanship becomes most evident.
Thread as Living Material
In the world of tufting, material is not just a tool — it is a language. At Borrissol Creatiu, they mainly work with high-quality wool and recycled acrylic yarns sourced locally, selected for their resistance, definition, and chromatic intensity. Texture, weight, and density can completely transform the final outcome.
“Threads are the soul of every piece.”
A deep sensitivity toward materials lies at the heart of the project. Belén continuously explores new textures and fibers, with a particular interest in responsible processes and sustainable materials. “Material changes everything: shine, texture, weight, and even the emotional perception of a piece.” At a time when handmade work is regaining value, this conscious approach to materiality also reshapes the relationship between craftsmanship, design, and sustainability.
More Than a Studio
Walking into Borrissol Creatiu means entering a space where concentration, experimentation, and community coexist. Artists, designers, curious beginners, and people simply looking to disconnect from daily routines all gather around the shared experience of making. The studio is both a learning space and a meeting point.
“It’s not just about learning tufting — it’s about living a creative, transformative, and shared experience.”
One of the things that surprises Belén most is seeing how quickly people with no previous experience discover creative abilities they didn’t know they had.
Creating with Your Hands
Like many independent creative projects, Borrissol Creatiu has had to find its own balance between artistic practice, business management, and community building. Yet it is precisely this balance that gives the project its identity. Looking ahead, Belén hopes to establish Borrissol as a reference space for contemporary textile techniques, opening it to new collaborations, experimental formats, and educational projects. In an increasingly digital world, tufting almost feels like a counter gesture: slow, physical, and deeply human.
“Creating with our hands connects us to time, material, and the profound satisfaction of transforming a simple thread into something unique.”
Quick Questions
Favorite color?
Moss green.
An essential material?
Wool.
A piece that defines the studio?Organic, abstract pieces full of color.
Coffee or tea in the studio?
Both — always surrounded by threads and conversations.
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