Who we are
“Our world in colors is environmentally friendly, respects the environment and human health!”
Maurizio Savoldo After his Master’s in Natural Science at the University of Cagliari, focused on botany, extensive research on dye plants and experiments, in 2005 he opens the La Robbia workshop.
It comes to bloom in the heart of Sardinia, the village of Atzara, in the region called The Mandrolisai. Natural dying of yarns and fabrics is a peculiar and evocative craft, unique in its kind on the island territory.
Maurizio handles in person the whole process of dyeing yarns with natural pigments, starting with the collection of dyeing species. Pigments used are derived from roots, flowers, leaves, seeds, bark and some waste materials transformed into raw material, diligently processed. Formulae and procedures that draw on a rich heritage of local knowledge, resulting in vibrant colours of a unique beauty, in a variegated colour scale that works both enchanting and inspiring.
All processing phases follow the line of a sustainable development, thus creating the Workshop Philosophy, beginning with the revalorisation of natural dyeing materials, manufacturing one-off articles and 100% innovative products, for the benefit of humans and the environment alike.
In 2001, concluding his study Natural Sciences at the University of Cagliari, with the presentation and discussion of his master’s thesis “Spontaneous dye plants in the territory of Atzara, Mandrolisai”, he concretizes his investigation of pigments from a scientific and historical viewpoint, taking on his adventure into the world of natural colours.
The most significant results of the research carried out by Maurizio in the field, together with the most precious alchemical receipts, have been transferred through the historical memory of the village elders, enabling the recovery of an ancient craft, the awareness and appreciation of which had already gone lost.
In time Maurizio, with the precious collaboration of his mother Angela and Federica, added a quality production of textile goods for clothing and furniture to the dyeing activity. The chromatic play of the natural fibre yarns, woven into knit-work or printed with sophisticated ecoprint effects, provided and realised with great artistic sensibility by Federica, lend their distinctive mark.
Apart from participating in the major expositions, local, national and international fairs reserved for excellent artistic craftsmanship, La Robbia proposes its own production in its Atzara workshop.
A vast spectrum of natural yarns (wool of Sardinian sheep and Merinos wool), dyed exclusively with artisanal procedures using colourants extracted from dye plants, many of which collected locally, proposed in multicoloured yarn balls and intended for widely diverse purposes.