Antique Spanish Drap Cloth Made New: Espanyolet in Mallorca

When New Yorkers Thomas Bossert and Melissa Rosenbauer decided to quit their jobs in advertising to travel the world for a year, their plan was … to have no plan. The couple sold their belongings and left NYC for Thailand, Africa, New Zealand, and Indonesia. In Ubud, Bali, the couple was learning about indigo dyes and batik when it became clear to them that they wanted to launch a creative collaboration involving textiles.

Their next stop was Berlin, where they spent two months experimenting with dyes and techniques. “We went thinking we might stay in the city, but it was too cold for Melissa,” says Thomas, who is originally from Essen, Germany. When they took a trip to Spain to escape the chill, they fell in love with the country. The couple settled in Son Espanyolet, a neighborhood of Palma on the island of Mallorca, calling their new company Espanyolet as an ode to their new home.

Above: At Mallorcan flea markets, Thomas and Melissa discovered locally woven antique drap cloth used for sheets and wedding blankets. They bought remnants of the heavy, rustic linen (traditionally made of hemp, flax, or cotton) and applied the hand-painting and dyeing techniques from their travels.

Above: In the Espanyolet workshop, Thomas and Melissa blend Mediterranean-inspired pigments with algae, a thickening agent that creates a gel-like consistency and allows them to paint the pigment directly onto the linen cloth. Following the dye process, each piece of cloth is air dried on the terrace then cut, stitched, and sewed by hand.

Above: The Campanet Pillow (front) is $95 and part of the Turquoise Collection.

Above: Hand-painting creates gradated colors, and no two pieces are the same due to their individual brushstrokes and inconsistencies of hand-weaving. “The flax and hemp weft of the cloth adds texture and absorbs the color differently,” says Thomas. The Blue Family Trio of Pillows is $295.

Above: The Peach Collection includes bed covers and different sized pillows.

Above: The Goldenrod Bed Cover is $385.

Above: The Almond Blossom Pink Bed Cover is $385.

Danica Wilcox is the founder of Hito Home, a design studio based in Mallorca, Spain. See more of her work in our posts An Artful Casita from a New Yorker in Mallorca, Spain and Experimental Brass Lighting from Hito Home.