Tuft love

FRANCO-PORTUGUESE COUPLE, EMILIE CAVACO AND MARCOS ALFARES, ARE TAKING A CENTURIES-OLD TECHNIQUE AND USING IT TO CREATE INTERIOR DESIGN PIECES WITH A CONTEMPORARY ART TWIST. THINK COLOUR, INSPIRATION AND HOW A MUCH-LOVED HOBBY TURNED INTO A BUSINESS

Words: SALLY DIXON

There seems to be no end to the explosion of creative thinking of the SÖNMUN twosome who use colour, shape and texture to tell each story. Their pieces are certainly today’s must-haves and will become collector’s items of the future

SÖNMUN is a conceptual brand born out of years of combined experience in the textile industry. A project started only last year by two creative minds with a passion for colour and texture, their feel-good palette of ocean blues and sunset reds and oranges brings a distinct personality to the vibrant and eye-catching three-dimensional designs.

Carefully handcrafted in the heart of the Algarve, SÖNMUN revives the age-old tufting technique (what on earth is tufting you might be thinking, but more of that later) as its signature and aims to give each piece a unique and disruptive personality, blurring the lines between rugs and wall art. A lockdown trend that looks like it’s here to stay, tufting was made popular again during the pandemic thanks to Instagram and TikTok. Tufting exploded onto the social media scene in 2020, heading up a home-crafting boom when we were all banished indoors. Basically, if you weren’t making banana bread then you were making a rug instead.

Fashionably late to the party, musician and composer Marcos says, “Everything started around two years ago, when I wanted to find something as a hobby besides music. I wanted to find a craft that I could pour my creativity into. I was searching on the internet and fell in love with the tufting technique.” After a combination of self-taught learning and taking an online course, Marcos decided to put his tufting into practice in early 2022.

So, what exactly is tufting? In simple terms, it is an ancient form of textile weaving commonly used to make rugs. It reached its peak in the 1960s only to fall out of fashion. Cue the pandemic, people being ‘locked down’ for months, and the need for a creative outlet and as a result tufting became hot news once more. A certain level of skill and investment is required (not to mention patience) due to the equipment needed for tufting at scale.

The talented duo that make up SÖNMUN combine their skillsets to create captivating, feel-good home décor that captures the beauty of Algarvian dawns and the female form.

Marcos was born in the Alentejo and moved to Portimão as a child with his family. A talented musician and composer, going under the name goldcobra, he is an independent indie artist with a mixture of pop, synth, synthwave and retro 80s style (check him out on Spotify).

Emilie, born in France to Portuguese parents, came to Portugal when she was 14. A graduate of Communication Sciences and and style. It’s a lot of the south of Portugal but also Southern Europe and North Africa when it comes to colour. Style-wise, we felt inspired by some French artists, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, etc.” While Emilie works on the designs and colour palette, she’s happy to leave the tufting part to Marcos, trying it once and realising it wasn’t for her!

The couple launched a capsule collection in late 2022 as a presentation of the brand and their personal style but the strength of their work is that they are happy to receive other people’s ideas and develop them.

Collaboration is the next step for the brand with the duo open to working more closely with clients, interior designers, boutique hotel brands and restaurants in creating something unique for individual spaces. “Our focus is to work with other inspired talents and businesses because it’s more personal and special when you go to a hotel or someone’s home and see handcrafts and unique pieces of art on display. It’s like having a painting at home but it’s tactile. A piece of art you can touch,” says Marcos.

One look at their website and you will see how versatile tufting can be. “We shot the pictures on our website in a specific location to showcase how the pieces can be used in different areas within the home. The common perception is that tufting is just a rug but in reality, it can be wall art, it can be table accessories, and so much more,” says Marcos.

From a hobby to a side hustle to a full-time dream, SÖNMUN is gaining traction. So, what’s

Imaging Consulting, Emilie met Marcos when she was 23 and convinced him to move to Paris with her two years later. Together they worked as visual merchandisers on the launch of the American brand, Forever 21, into Paris. They stayed in Paris for five years before returning to Lisbon for work. With both sets of parents living in the Algarve, the pair soon decided to return to their roots and move full time to southern Portugal. As a project/décor manager for architect and interiors studio, Saudade Algarve, Emilie gained a newfound love for home décor and a hobby in digital illustration.

Emilie showed her digital drawings to Marcos, he saw the potential for them to be realised through tufting and a fusion of creativity was born. Emilie says: “We started to imagine a collection where we could show what our Universe is like in terms of colour next for the brand, where does tufting go from here? Emilie says: “I would love to have some furniture in the collection, like a bench or a chair with tufting. Our goal is also to work on bigger pieces, like large scale rugs up to two metres.” Sounds like Marcos is going to have his work cut out!

And the name… it’s a play on the words ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ but also incorporating the word ‘son’ as a tribute to their own son. A brand built with love.

Prices start from €60 for the table accessories. Selected pieces can be purchased at Zé e Maria, Olhão. SÖNMUN atelier in Loulé is open for viewing by appointment only.

W: sonmunstudio.com

E: sonmunstudio@gmail.com