We’ve just reached Anthochori, a beautiful mountainous village near Metsovo where the recent snow has frozen on the sides of the road.

15

It’s located at 1,040 m altitude, on the slopes of northern Pindos and its few residents are extremely polite and hospitable. It’s quite cold and we head towards Mrs Labrini’s house, who weaves carpets on her looms.

Three looms and the rug

Reaching her courtyard, her dog, Boubis, senses us and makes it impossible for us to approach. Mrs Labrini hears him barking and comes out. Boubis calms down.

“I was born in Anthochori and stayed here until I was 12 years old. That’s when I left and went to Ano Pedina, in the Zagorochoria region, at the Labriadios School where I learned the art of weaving. Then, I went to Delvinaki where I learned carpet making,” she tells us as we take a first look around her space.

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Photo: Amalia Kovaiou
Photo: Amalia Kovaiou

There are three looms in the room, two small ones and one large, holding a large rug that is almost finished. The large loom is something we haven’t seen before, as it’s so large that it takes up almost the whole room. “It might take between five and six months to complete a large rug, and that’s only provided you work at least 8 hours every day.”

We carefully observe the rug she is working on. It has dozens of shapes and different shades. “All this is designed on graph paper and I follow the design faithfully to get the final result. When there’s a mistake you can correct it, given that you notice in time, that is before you’ve moved on much.”

She spends all her time at home making these gorgeous works of art. “Sometimes the order might be pressing and to deliver it in time I need to work many hours per day. But I like it. And it passes the time!”

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Photo: Amalia Kovaiou
She uses cotton thread / Photo: Amalia Kovaiou

The thrill and the carpet “gestation”

Mrs Labrini speaks of the thrill she experiences each time she completes a rug, while when we ask her about her work in general, she tells us that it’s her whole life and she couldn’t imagine herself not doing it. “I don’t know how many carpets I’ve made in my life, I’m sure they’re many. But each time it’s as if I’m “carrying” the rug, and when it’s ready to leave the loom, is a really important moment for me. Each time I complete a small design I look at it with excitement and filled with joy. Even more so when I see a whole rug.”

And where do all these rugs go, we ask. “Many are orders, some are made to be displayed at the Rizarios School in Monodendri, in Zagori, with whom I collaborate.” Regarding the quality of the rugs, she tells us that it’s related to the number of knots needed to make a square metre. The thread she uses is cotton, while the warp is also cotton, but processed differently.

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“I don’t know how many carpets I’ve made in my life, I’m sure they’re many.” / Photo: Amalia Kovaiou
Photo: Amalia Kovaiou

Countless photographs on the tablet

Apart from rugs she also makes bags using koureloudes (rugs made of colourful spare rags), while she often prepares rugs with designs made by artists that they then use as works of art. There’s a tablet on the table. She switches it on and shows us designs. She has countless photos and every single one is great. As she shows us the photographs she tells us about her life in Germany, where she lived between 1996 and 2007, and her marriage to a German man who died too soon.

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Photo: Amalia Kovaiou
Photo: Amalia Kovaiou

Apart from being a master of the loom and a great weaver, Mrs Labrini is a great, hospitable person, who opens her house to people who want to learn about weaving. We leave and she stays at her door waving at us until we reach the car, while Boubis starts barking again. It has been an amazing meeting with a person who deeply loves what she does.

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