Margarita Lamus’s two needles set off this family’s history. Gladys’s mother had mastered the craft of not only making fique bags in which to carry potatoes but also of fashioning rugs. Gladys, her husband, Gabriel, and their daughter, Julieth Sulai, inherited her skill. Gabriel, however, went a step further and tried his hand at knot weaving on the vertical loom. This, in turn, became the workshop’s trademark. Said workshop is located at the entrance of Curití, known across the region as a town of weavers.

Many of their creations decorate farms in the country’s warmer regions. They have expanded their portfolio with handbags and fique wares they craft on demand. They have also collaborated with interior designers, such as Mónica Urquijo from Barranquilla. With her help, Gabriel started to explore the craft of weaving with abacá, which is a natural fiber from the Philippines. Their products are currently sold in the United States, Spain, Mexico, and Germany. Fortunately —and unexpectedly—, the Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in orders due to many people’s newly sparked interest in decorating their homes, which began during this global crisis.

Everything is done inside the workshop: while Gabriel works with sisal plant fibers, some of his fellow craftspeople weave on the other looms, others comb and dye the fique threads, and others yet spin said threads. This is a team that works together: 15 craftspeople work in the workshop and 60 other women do so indirectly by spinning, knitting, and manufacturing bags. Gladys collects the money, and Gabriel teaches the craft, because, in his own words, “If you learned from others, you need to teach others. Because one day you will die, but your work will remain.”