A textile artist from Covilhã who transforms forgotten wool from a historic factory into luminous, sustainable, and soulful light sculptures.
Ana Paula Almeida, The Weaver of Light
The city of Covilhã, nestled on the slopes of Portugal’s Serra da Estrela mountain range, has always been a place shaped by threads. For centuries, its heart beat to the rhythm of looms, the hum of machines, and the quiet persistence of countless hands. Known as the “Manchester of Portugal” for its thriving wool industry, Covilhã became one of the country’s most important textile hubs, where wool defined both identity and livelihood. Though much of the industry has since faded, its memory lingers in the stone walls of abandoned factories and in the lives of those who once worked within them.
It is in this landscape of heritage and echoes that Ana Paula Almeida has found her calling. A professor of chemistry and engineer by training, her world was long defined by logic, formulas, and the science of matter. Yet alongside this analytical life ran a parallel thread: her fascination with manual crafts. Crochet, knitting, embroidery, these quiet passions accompanied her from childhood and, over time, grew into something deeper, merging with her professional identity in the most unexpected way.
The setting of Ana Paula’s artistic journey is as vital as the art itself. Her husband inherited the Júlio Afonso wool factory, a once-bustling site that today stands as a relic of Covilhã’s industrial past. Within its walls lay an immense, untouched archive of wool yarns dating back to the 1970s, forgotten material, yet still radiant with possibility.
For Ana Paula, this discovery was transformative. The vibrant colors of the wool, preserved for decades, were more than raw material; they were stories waiting to be retold. Each spool carried the memory of the hands that spun, dyed, and worked it. To let it remain hidden would be to silence those voices.
From this rediscovery, a philosophy emerged: nothing should be wasted. This commitment took shape in her project Petrus by Ana Almeida, a collection that reimagines forgotten wool as radiant crochet light sculptures. In each piece, sustainability is not abstract, it is a lived act of preservation. What once risked fading into silence now glows with new meaning, proof that preservation and reinvention can walk hand in hand.
The Simple Act of Naming: Lamps Sculpted in Crochet
In Ana Paula’s hands, crochet transcends tradition. Each loop and stitch becomes part of a larger vision, transforming thread into sculpture, craft into art. The pieces she creates under APA (her initials), are more than lamps. They are luminous sculptures, vessels of light, color, and memory.
Suspended in clusters or standing alone, these crochet light sculptures invite interaction. They cast shifting shadows, play with texture, and create a dialogue between softness and structure. They are objects to be touched, observed, and lived with. In their presence, Portugal’s enduring textile heritage does not simply survive, it glows.
At the heart of Ana Paula’s work is the simple act of naming. Each lamp bears the name of a woman, Alice, Maria, Amália, Aurora, Antónia, and countless others, honoring those who once gave life to the Júlio Afonso factory. In this way, her creations transcend design; they become living memorials to resilience, community, and the quiet dignity of labor. “For me,” she says, “to be a woman is to be light, to be inspiration.”
The New Hand Lab: A Collective Force
Ana Paula’s work extends beyond her own creations. She is a co-founder and resident artist at New Hand Lab, a cultural association located in the very building of the old factory.
Described by Ana Paula and her husband as their “son,” the project is both personal and collective. It reimagines the factory as a hub for culture, where contemporary artists, designers, and makers breathe new life into industrial heritage. Here, tradition and innovation coexist. The past is not preserved as static memory but reinterpreted as a catalyst for new creative possibilities.
Ana Paula Almeida’s work has an undeniable place on The Portuguese List, for her dedication to authentic storytelling, cultural preservation, and soulful design.In each luminous sculpture, Ana Paula Almeida bridges old and new, science and craft, memory and innovation. Her work is not only a celebration of Portugal’s textile heritage but also a demonstration of how sustainability and creativity can intertwine to create something timeless.