The Generalitat recognises the career of master leather artisan Sandra Quílez of Nquart Leather

Today at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Sandra Quílez of Nquart Leather received the Premi Restaura 2020 from the Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent. The award was not presented last year because of the pandemic.

Members of Leather Cluster Barcelona, Nquart Leather is a leather craft workshop located on Carrer de la Riera in Vic, led by two master artisans, Sandra Quílez López and Anna Pradell Masferrer, professionals accredited by the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The National Crafts Awards of the Generalitat de Catalunya recognise those artisans, organisations and companies that have distinguished themselves in the production, design, quality, training, marketing, promotion, dissemination, appreciation and/or prestige of Catalan crafts. In this way, the Government seeks to acknowledge the value and significance of crafts in Catalan society and, at the same time, to help give them the greatest possible prominence through annual recognition of the sector’s work.

The Premi Restaura was awarded to Sandra Quílez for her work recovering and restoring leather and hide elements from various exhibition spaces and museums, most notably the leather furniture of Palau Güell in Barcelona. Sandra is also the driving force behind the designation of Carrer de la Riera in Vic as a Catalan Point of Craft Interest.

Grateful and moved on receiving the award, master leather artisan Sandra Quílez said: “I consider myself a curator of leather objects, a guardian of history. Thank you for this recognition; I will continue to conserve and restore the cultural heritage of this incredible country.”