Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background?

My name is Filipa Won. I’m the daughter of a Korean father and a Portuguese mother. I grew up in the village of Caramulo and moved to Lisbon in 2002. Although unconsciously I felt the need to communicate through colors, a desire to imagine and create, and to break with what is standard, I completed a degree in Economics, a field which could give me a good job.

I take great joy in living life following my instincts, believing that anything is possible! With a background in Economics, I began my professional activity in the field of numbers, starting work as a financial auditor. My need for freedom - freedom, for me, is like the need to breathe - led me to change professions; working for someone else felt like a kind of prison.

I became a freelancer in the real estate sector. I'm passionate about antique things, and the city's historic neighborhoods were falling into disrepair, which I saw as an opportunity to achieve a goal I had: my economic autonomy.

After the age of forty, I felt this goal had been achieved, and a new need arose in me - to give something back to society. So, I started looking for a job in the third sector, with associations for children without parents or organizations dedicated to the elderly. I had no success, only negative responses due to my lack of experience in this sector.

Then, during the first lockdown, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with two daughters, aged six and four at the time, locked up at home to avoid contact with screens, I decided to teach them Arraiolos embroidery, which I had learned as a child. In this process, I made a small cushion, and it was then that I found myself confronted with the idea of giving new life to the traditional Arraiolos rugs, thinking perhaps this was the way to give something back to society, to give part of my life to the culture of the country where I was born, promoting the culture of Arraiolos rugs through a new approach.

I've only been able to live these lives because I'm a very daring dreamer who simply believes in the generosity of life!

Can you explain why you decided to work in Lisbon? How has it changed your approach to your project?

After graduating from Coimbra University, I moved to London. However, I missed the relaxed life of Portuguese culture, our ‘não faz mal!’ London is a cosmopolitan city, so my return to the country of my birth could only have been to the capital, Lisbon.

I think Lisbon was one of the European capitals with the latest economic emergence. About 20 years ago, the city was very genuine. Downtown Lisbon was very dark at night; it was a desert. Most of the buildings were disused and vacant, and few people wanted to live in the historic city center. It made the city beautiful because of its authenticity. At that time, the shops had not yet been replaced by the big international brands.

In this sense, living in Lisbon gave me the opportunity to find:

• Economic autonomy
  • I developed real estate projects that gave me economic independence, which granted me the freedom to one day become a Textile Artist - a path that isn't always easy but is fundamental for every artist so that they can let their soul breathe and express their essence.
  • For young people who have not yet achieved this economic independence, I recommend starting with detachment from material goods and being aware of the sacrifices needed... I made huge sacrifices to achieve my economic independence... when I look back.
• Multicultural influences
  • Lisbon, in the meantime, has become a multicultural city. Contact with people from other cultures was the impetus for recognizing the beauty of Arraiolos carpet embroidery and understanding that there was room for a new approach. It was they who made me believe!
  • In general, the Portuguese have a certain reluctance towards what is national. A marketing campaign was once launched some years ago, ‘O que é bom é nacional!’, with the intention that the Portuguese would start to value national products more. However, this issue has been improving!

Could you tell us what project you are working on and what you would like to explore in the coming months?

Over the last few months, I've essentially worked on two projects:

• Maravilha Collection

A project for a set of small tapestries for each of the rooms at the Torel Douro Valley Hotel, in collaboration with Studio Astolfi.

It was an intense project; for the first time, I had the opportunity to work with the Portuguese artist Joana Astolfi, a personal friend of mine. Her essence is refinement, colors, contrast, and texture, while my essence is based on the roughness found in modest Arraiolos embroidery. 

From this confrontation, we decided to work on the Arraiolos embroidery piece using other, finer embroidery techniques, perfecting the lines and incorporating different textures. Throughout the project, we enjoyed discussing the contrast between the colors we had chosen. I would propose the colors, and before Joana could express herself, I would jokingly say our popular expression, ‘Já vou levar nas orelhas’.

From these two essences, the result was marvelous. The pieces became very interesting due to their rich diversity of techniques and the combination of greater refinement in the finish while respecting the beauty found in the imperfection of handmade work. 

Some of the pieces will be available in the Vida Portuguesa Shop, which makes me proud because it was the first shop that, in a way, encouraged the Portuguese to ‘wake up’ to the quality of our culture and our products.

• Terra Calma Collection

A project for a hotel unit in Carvoeiro, Algarve, in collaboration with Ampère Studio. The tapestries are destined for the dining rooms of twenty-two villas. 

After a visit to Carvoeiro, I designed the pieces, taking inspiration from what caught my eye and using new colors while keeping the tapestry in the traditional Arraiolos embroidery with some new stitches of my own. 

I was very happy to be invited and grateful to Ampère Studio for choosing pieces from our culture, a great way to showcase Portuguese tradition.

Could you name one Portuguese artist you admire or who inspired you?

Vhils, I've always been impressed by art that requires countless hours of work... and one day it became my job... hours on end to embroider a square meter! I was fascinated by the simplicity of Vhils' art execution - a hammer and a wall, and such extraordinarily beautiful things come out of it!

Can you tell us one spot in Lisbon that inspires you?

I don't really have any set rules for inspiration, but I would say that the tranquility I find in my workshop is a source of energy!

How do you see the evolution of the Lisbon creative community?

I think the Creative Community in Lisbon has grown a lot in recent years, particularly in craft. 

In this field, the country’s late development has been our ‘luck,’ some people say, because at a moment when handmade craft has increasingly been recognized, this late rise allowed the ‘savoir-faire’ to not be lost through the generations and remain quite present, which represents an advantage for Portuguese Handmade Artists.

What will you take away from your experience with the Lisbon by Design Fair in the edition in May 2023?

Lisbon by Design is a very enriching initiative, giving us the opportunity to explore our work, travel without barriers, and, in this way, create wonderfully magical pieces of our own! The final assessment of my participation in the Lisbon by Design Fair in May 2023 was very positive. 

It was fascinating because it gave me the chance to meet other colleagues, creating synergies and discovering new techniques and approaches. 

I presented pieces in organic formats, with different reliefs and textures - concepts that go beyond the traditional Arraiolos rug.

For the Portuguese visitors, in general, the reaction was surprising due to the novelty it represents compared to traditional Arraiolos embroidery. In the end, receiving congratulations for the initiative inspired me to continue on the path I had chosen for Arraiolos embroidery tapestries.

Finally, when I’m creating my art, I am somewhat selfish, in a good sense - I do it genuinely for my soul. But then, seeing my pieces on exhibition and feeling how they touched the emotions of the visitors was truly comforting and made me feel profoundly grateful to life!