Rita Martins Pereira
- Country
- Portugal
I am a textile designer and hand weaver, founder of Cross Lights, an artisanal brand created in 2015. My work celebrates colour, joy and materials. Inspired by the visual landscapes of my travels, I translate architecture, textures and cultural memories into woven patterns — where craftsmanship meets contemporary design. Working on manual looms, I create unique and limited pieces using carefully selected fibres such as alpaca, wool and cotton. Alongside my design practice, I develop experimental artistic research, connecting raw wool with vegetal materials gathered from my surroundings, transforming them into tactile, expressive textile compositions.
I discovered weaving in secondary school and immediately felt connected to the rhythm of the loom. In 2015, I returned to it fully and fell in love with the craft again, founding Cross Lights the same year. I have now worked professionally with weaving for 10 years, in addition to my early experience as a teenager.
My favourite technique is plain weave. I am drawn to its simplicity and strength — a clear structure that allows colour, texture and the natural properties of each material to speak. I focus on how fibres behave, how they reflect light, how they create depth. For me, weaving is about subtlety, intention and the quiet power of material.
Artworks
This series of two panels is a tribute to the rural architecture and seasonal tones of the Alentejo, where agriculture, light and memory are deeply intertwined. Handwoven on a four-shaft manual loom, the pieces explore structure and texture as a reflection of the region’s quiet strength and layered landscapes.Crafted with recycled wool and combined with natural elements such as pine needles, bracken and cane.The result is a woven composition that evokes earth, fields and built heritage — translating territory into textile form. Lisbon, 2025
A woven piece created from materials gathered during a walk along the shores of the Óbidos Lagoon — a sensory translation of landscape through touch, scent and colour. wool intertwines with pine needles, bunny tails, seaweed and reed, forming an organic surface that echoes the rhythm of nature and the dialogue between land and water.Handwoven on a single-shaft loom in a plain weave structure.
Created during the Alinhados pela Mesma Lã residency in Loulé, 2025, this series reflects multiple references to the Algarve territory: the diamond patterns of traditional chimneys, the textures of esparto and cane, and the natural irregularity of churra wool with its long characteristic locks. The panels also evoke the idea of scar — marks left on wool and memory carried by the sheep’s bodies — transforming vernacular elements into a contemporary textile language.
One-of-a-kind scarf handwoven on a manual loom using a plain weave structure. Crafted from soft alpaca and bio wool, the piece highlights the natural beauty and tactile richness of the fibres. Its simplicity allows colour, texture and material qualities to emerge with quiet elegance, creating a timeless accessory designed for warmth, comfort and understated sophistication.