#Wool4Healt2024 Awards has got the honor to have as prizes in different categories the bags and pictures designed and made by hand by Mariangeles Perez García, a textile designer that collaborates with EWE Foundation for charity purposes. She cannot go to the event but has sent to us this emotive letter about herself.
🌟 Dear Knitting Ladies 🌟
I’m sorry I can’t be with you on #Wool4Health Awards, but I’d love to share my knitting journey with you!
Knitting has always been a passion of mine. During my university years, I made myself a new sweater each year. At the end of the school year, I would unravel it, wash the wool, and knit it again with a fresh idea. Little did I know where this would lead me...
In 1975, just after moving to Milan, a neighbor noticed the sweater I was wearing and asked if I had made it myself. When I said yes, he explained that he was a photographer who sold stories to fashion magazines that published knitting patterns. He then asked me if I’d be interested in creating 70 summer garments, to be photographed and sold as knitting features. Of course, I said yes, without even knowing what that really meant!
So, I ran out to buy a few magazines to see what these “features” were. And somehow, I made it happen, including tiny bikinis! Once my designs were published, doors to the fashion world flew open.
At that point, not only did my name start appearing in all the major magazines, but yarn manufacturers began hiring me to design their winter and summer collections. For nearly 20 years, I had the time of my life knitting, and much of my work can still be seen on my blog, “How to Have Fun Knitting.”
As I knit, I started experimenting with wool as an art material. My first exhibition was in 1986 during the Festival dei Due Mondo in Spoleto. To my surprise, word spread about this Spanish woman creating innovative wool-based art, and soon people from all over Europe and the US were flocking to see my work, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
I’ve been knitting ever since, and you can explore my work on my website, angelesperezgarcia.com.
Finally, when I moved to Pontevedra, I invited local women to join me in a creative endeavor: turning canvas embroidery into beautiful bags. The bags you’ve received as prizes today are an example of this project.
I hope you enjoy them and have fun showing them off!
With warmest wishes,Ángeles Pérez García ✨
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