Our story
LOOMescu’s mission is to contribute to a sustainable life on Earth by transforming reclaimed textiles into new timeless items. We believe in mindful and responsible consumption. In our business, we strive for reducing our impact on the planet and for creating timeless designed items from repurposed textiles in a sustainable production.
We take used clothes from their post-consumer life or textile waste from the clothes producers, introduce this in our weaving process and create new unique handcrafted artwork items such as rugs or other home decor items such as table runner or wall hangings.
LOOMescu started as an idea in the founder’s mind, Cristina wanted to start her own business for some years and she was constantly in the search of that idea that would challenge her to start. In 2020 she read “The Future we choose” Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac and „Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari and the idea sparkled. It was the moment to start an altruistic business that has a positive impact on the environment and which can contribute to a greener future on Earth.
Cristina was for a while interested in fashion sustainability and she was paying more and more attention to what happens to the clothes at the end of their life. So, she learned about the fast-growing rhythm of the quantity of textile waste that get in the landfills each year. It was shocking to learn that more than 90 million tones of textiles are thrown away yearly and that this is polluting the air, soil and water heavily.
The problem that she learned about together with the memory of her grandma that was transforming each piece of used garment into a rag rug and her passion for weaving at a traditional loom got the form and name of and she started to weave. In January 2022 she dedicated full time for developing the project so that the workshop can prolong the lifecycle of the reclaimed clothes.
Our values
We believe in sustainability, circular economy and innovation
Sustainability was defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Sustainability is the balance between the environment, equity, and economy. What does this mean? It means that we need to find the equilibrium between them by understanding the connections. By doing this we will ensure that our level of living is not destroying the chance of our kids and grandkids to a similar life on earth. We need to pay attention to the excessive consumption and thinking of the future generations.
This is what we are doing at LOOMescu. We have the environment part in our heart and mind looking to make it work in an ethical and equitable way so that it is economically viable.
Education is considered to be the process in which and by which the knowledge, characters and behavior of the human being are shaped and molded. Aristotle said education is the process of creation of a sound mind in a sound body. Pestolozi said education is a natural, progressive and systematic development of all forces. It distinguishes human beings from other creations.
For LOOMescu education is learning something new every day, experiencing something new every day and sharing what we discovered and consider worth sharing, so it might help others in their learning journey. As Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” so we are also trying to contribute to a better world through education.
An artisan is someone that works with their hands to create unique, functional and/or decorative items using traditional techniques. Artisans are masters of their craft and create unique products. An artisan creation is sparkling creativity.
At LOOMescu we take old and used textiles and with the help of different types of looms, using weaving as a traditional technique, we create new and unique items as rugs or home decorations.
Community is about people. Community is not a place, a building and also is not an exchange of information over the internet. Community is about the feeling of belonging and about being part of something greater. Members of a community have a sense of trust, belonging, safety, and caring for each other. They have an individual and collective sense that they can, as part of that community, influence their environments and each other. The word “community” has a power that inspires togetherness and positivity and it speaks about solidarity.
For us, community means having people around us which believe in the same values as sustainability, education, artisanship and creativity. We want to create around us a trusted feeling of community that comes from shared experiences and from learning together and from one another on topics such as sustainability, upcycling and weaving.
We are all born creative and then taught to be uncreative as we grow older.
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Being creative means that a person has the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing.
Here you can find one creativity quote that we totally agree with:
“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.”
– Rollo May, The Courage to Create
LOOMescu is not shy, LOOMescu is bold.
To be bold implies a willingness to get things done despite risks and tough times.
Boldness as our value is the courage to believe that we, as humanity, can live a slower and happier life. Boldness for us is the willingness to stand out for our mission even if it might seem difficult and crazy.
Our boldness is about doing what’s right for the customer and the environment even when it doesn’t seem profitable. We believe in our mission, so we upcycle from the heart, in the heart of Transylvania.
Sustainability
Sustainability was defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Sustainability is the balance between the environment, equity, and economy. What does this mean? It means that we need to find the equilibrium between them by understanding the connections. By doing this we will ensure that our level of living is not destroying the chance of our kids and grandkids to a similar life on earth. We need to pay attention to the excessive consumption and thinking of the future generations.
This is what we are doing at LOOMescu. We have the environment part in our heart and mind looking to make it work in an ethical and equitable way so that it is economically viable.
Education
Education is considered to be the process in which and by which the knowledge, characters and behavior of the human being are shaped and molded. Aristotle said education is the process of creation of a sound mind in a sound body. Pestolozi said education is a natural, progressive and systematic development of all forces. It distinguishes human beings from other creations.
For LOOMescu education is learning something new every day, experiencing something new every day and sharing what we discovered and consider worth sharing, so it might help others in their learning journey. As Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” so we are also trying to contribute to a better world through education.
Artisanship
An artisan is someone that works with their hands to create unique, functional and/or decorative items using traditional techniques. Artisans are masters of their craft and create unique products. An artisan creation is sparkling creativity.
At LOOMescu we take old and used textiles and with the help of different types of looms, using weaving as a traditional technique, we create new and unique items as rugs or home decorations.
Community
Community is about people. Community is not a place, a building and also is not an exchange of information over the internet. Community is about the feeling of belonging and about being part of something greater. Members of a community have a sense of trust, belonging, safety, and caring for each other. They have an individual and collective sense that they can, as part of that community, influence their environments and each other. The word “community” has a power that inspires togetherness and positivity and it speaks about solidarity.
For us, community means having people around us which believe in the same values as sustainability, education, artisanship and creativity. We want to create around us a trusted feeling of community that comes from shared experiences and from learning together and from one another on topics such as sustainability, upcycling and weaving.
Creativity
We are all born creative and then taught to be uncreative as we grow older.
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Being creative means that a person has the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing.
Here you can find one creativity quote that we totally agree with:
“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.”
– Rollo May, The Courage to Create
Boldness
LOOMescu is not shy, LOOMescu is bold.
To be bold implies a willingness to get things done despite risks and tough times.
Boldness as our value is the courage to believe that we, as humanity, can live a slower and happier life. Boldness for us is the willingness to stand out for our mission even if it might seem difficult and crazy.
Our boldness is about doing what’s right for the customer and the environment even when it doesn’t seem profitable. We believe in our mission, so we upcycle from the heart, in the heart of Transylvania.
Meet the founder
Cristina Radu
LOOMescu was founded in January 2022 by Cristina, a member of the sustainability tribe. Cristina started LOOMescu due to her care for sustainability and planet Earth and being driven by her passion for weaving. Currently Cristina is running the operations of the workshop.
“I am Cristina – the heart, mind and hands behind LOOMescu. Less than 1 year ago I would have said that I am a human resources professional building up a successful corporate career. Today I say that I am a dreamer, a woman entrepreneur and a contemporary weaving artisan.
I started LOOMescu with the dream of leaving no footprint on Earth by having a meaningful slowly lived life. I rediscovered my passion for weaving after more than 20 years and I started to be more and more preoccupied by sustainability, responsible consumption choices and upcycling.
I strongly believe in LOOMescu’s mission of contributing to a sustainable life on Earth by transforming old and used textiles into new timeless items. We upcycle for a better future.”
