Pride of Place - Lucía Echavarría puts age-old Colombian craft to bold use

Echavarría explains over Zoom from her Bogotá studio as she holds up a striped werregue bowl, its fibers entwined so tightly the vessel could carry water. Her varied work (now realized with the help of more than 80 artisans) puts a contemporary spin on that and other timeless techniques while preserving the traditional colors, motifs, and construction methods. At Milan's Alcova fair, this past April, Echavarría filled the living room at Villa Borsani with slipper chairs upholstered in hammock fabrics, tables topped with eye-popping beadwork, and svelte side chairs sheathed in woven estera. Her solo exhibition, on view at London's Lamb gallery through November, showcases 12 methods practiced across 10 regions.

- By Hannah Martin -Photography by Mónica Barreneche

Since she was a child in Bogotá, visiting artisans fairs with her mother, Lucía Echavarría has been immersed in craft. "There's so much talent and so much variety," notes the designer, citing cotton hammocks from San Jacinto, beaded ceremonial masks from Putumayo, and richly decorated Guahibo wood ritual objects-among them stools and batonsfrom the country's Guainía plains. "It makes me very proud as a Colombian."