Milan, ITALY

“Fili: Weaving cultures, crafting beauty.”

Julia Villamonte is a weaver based in Milan focusing on functional home items and decorative objects. She was born and raised in Bicol, a region in the Philippines prone to typhoons and storms but with an interesting crafting culture. She learned how to weave from weaving communities in her hometown.

Her background and training as an architect instilled in her an approach that starts from macro to the micro level which she now applies to her weaving practice. Inevitability and restraint are key to Julia’s sensibilities.

Through her brand Fili, she translates a personal weaving practice into a growing collection of forms updated seasonally through materials co-developed with workshops in her home country. She also enjoys taking photographs with her analog camera and designing sets for her brand. Born in the archipelago, she decided to use the name Fili as it means strands, in the language of the country where she is currently based, which is Italy. Coincidentally, Fili is also in the word Filipino.