William Contreras still weaves on the two horizontal looms he inherited from his grandfather, Julián. Weaving is one of his family’s ancestral traditions. This has allowed him to turn his workshop into a living and breathing museum: a colonial mansion where the practices of spinning and weaving threads are carried out.

William started his journey at the age of six. He made cañuelas and wound the wool that his father, Ulpiano de Jesús, later used to weave blankets and ruanas. Later in life, he began to climb on the loom and study the machine’s movement. He carefully watched as the warp and weft came together to create woolen garments. At the age of 14, he felt he was ready and wove his first blanket. And, like his predecessors before him, he became a great craftsman.

The time he realized that every household in town, from the youngest to the oldest member, wove as a sign of respect to the elders, is engraved in his memory. He also recalls that every Wednesday said elders would take the wares that were woven from Thursday to Tuesday to Bogotá and Chiquinquirá. Many years have passed since then.

Today, he says that the things he enjoys most crafting are cloths with herringbone or houndstooth patterns. He also spins alpaca wool, mixes cotton fibers and fique, and puts his mastery to the test with ideas from fashion designers he has worked with, such as María Luisa Ortiz, Ángel Yañez, or Ricardo Pava.

He knows that the craft must be handed over to the younger generations because, otherwise, it faces the risk of being forgotten. This has given rise to his interest in spreading the knowledge of the trade through the museum. He wants to see the house where he weaves filled with school children. He would love to show them how ruanas and cloths are crafted so they can discover the immense amount of work behind the garments they use every day.

He is, of course, open to fashion, because it is there, in that field of innovation and design, where his work can continue finding new horizons: where he can challenge his own creative ability.