Editor's note: The first in our Color Patterns series, an ongoing conversation with MasayaCo Creative Director and co-founder Abril Zepeda about what she was thinking, what she was watching, and what she was trying to say with color.
If you've browsed MasayaCo's collection, you've probably noticed San Geronimo. It's one of our color pattern favorites: a bold, vibrant pattern in ruby red, sunset orange, and burgundy that makes a chair feel like the center of the room.
But this pattern is more than a pretty palette. It comes from the town of Masaya, Nicaragua, where every September the city fills with music, processions, and folk dances in honor of its patron saint, San Geronimo. The festival blends devotion and celebration, and for MasayaCo co-founder and Creative Director, Abril Zepeda, it is also home.
Growing up inside these celebrations left her with one question: how do you translate that feeling into sustainable design? The answer became the pattern you see today. Grab a seat; this story is as vibrant as the festival itself.
Abril Zepeda in the MasayaCo factory, surrounded by the frames she will dress in color.
The spark.
Paola: San Geronimo has been Masaya's patron saint for centuries, and the festival around him is as spiritual as it is festive. What drew you to that mix of devotion and celebration as the starting point for a pattern?
Abril: Identity. I grew up with these festivities, so they have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I always tried to understand the "why": why do people do this with such fervor?
This question eventually led me to pursue my anthropology studies. What I came to see is that people hold a deep belief in San Geronimo, and the best way to honor the saint's favors is with festivities: the music, the processions, the dancing. My way of honoring my identity is to express it the best way I can, as a textile artist, through pattern.
"My way of honoring my identity is to express it the best way I can, as a textile artist, through pattern."— Abril Zepeda
Paola: Take us back to the moment the idea clicked. What were you picturing, or where were you, when it came together?
Abril: I have always been fascinated by observing culture and traditions, and the San Geronimo festivities are full of both. As with most inspiration, it didn't arrive in one determined moment; ideas come randomly.
But I did ask myself: if I can express something about my home city, Masaya, through textiles, what would it be? San Geronimo was the first answer, the saint who has watched over our city for centuries. Then I thought about the day of the main parade, and all the color that comes with it.
The San Geronimo pattern on the Masaya Outdoor Lounge Chair. Ruby red, sunset orange, burgundy, all woven in.
From festival to fabric.
Paola: The festival is full of movement: processions, folk dances, music that goes on for weeks. Which of those moments shaped the pattern most, and how do you turn something that moves into something woven yet still?
Abril: The day of the main parade, September 30th. Even the music played by the different bands brings color. It is a very colorful festivity, and everything is happening at once: the bands, the dancers, the people in the street. I took some of those colors and organized them in a way that harmonized, so the pattern could hold that energy without feeling chaotic.
But a palette that rich needed more than just the right colors. I also had to develop a weaving technique that allowed me to use as many colors as possible, because I didn't want to leave any of them out.
Paola: Once the feeling was there, what did the actual design process look like? How many versions did this pattern go through before it felt right?
Abril: It took me almost two months to develop a color palette I was happy with, one that I felt was truly representative of the festival. I patiently made several versions, because I knew the colors had to feel right together before anything else.
There were moments when I felt overwhelmed, and when that happened, I would set the work aside and come back to it the next day. Stepping away helped me see it with fresh eyes, and little by little the palette found its balance.
A closer look at the weave. Each color organized thread by thread, in procession for the festival.
Color and meaning.
Paola: Let's talk color. How did the festival's colors translate into the palette you chose for this pattern?
Abril: Perfectly. Even though ruby red, sunset orange, and burgundy are not usual colors for a chair, and not what you typically see in interior design proposals, they are exactly what the festival feels like.
These are the colors of the parade: warm, intense, full of life. I didn't want to tone them down to make them "safer" for a living room, because then the pattern would stop feeling like the San Geronimo festival. You can see it on the Amador Rocking Chair, where the handwoven pattern brings all of that energy to a piece made for slowing down. For me, the palette had to carry the same feeling you get in the street on the day of the celebration.
The Amador Rocking Chair in San Geronimo. The parade in a piece made for staying put.
Paola: Was there one color you knew had to be there from the start? What made it essential?
Abril: Two variations of red: ruby red and burgundy. They aren't the main colors, if we understand that as the colors that repeat the most or appear in the biggest proportions. But they are the soul of the pattern. They give it depth and warmth, and they hold everything else together.
Take the Masaya Lounge Chair in San Geronimo: its back and seat are handwoven cord, so the colors have to work together thread by thread, and the two reds are what make the rest of the palette make sense. Without them, the other colors would not make sense to me. That's why, no matter how many versions I made, those two reds were never up for negotiation.
The story behind the pattern.
Paola: Is there a detail in this pattern most people would miss, but that means a lot to you personally?
Abril: An understanding of the colors, and not being afraid of them. People tend to notice the boldness first, but every color in this pattern is there on purpose, even the strongest ones.
"For me, color isn't something to be careful with. Once you understand it, it stops being intimidating and becomes a way of expressing who you are."— Abril Zepeda
Paola: Where does San Geronimo sit within MasayaCo's wider collection of patterns? Is it meant to stand out as something special, or blend naturally into the brand's everyday look?
Abril: It's meant to stand out. San Geronimo is a bold pattern, and I never wanted it to fade into the background. At the same time, it belongs to the MasayaCo family, because it comes from where we come from. It is a piece of Masaya.
The Masaya Rocking Chair is a good example: a clean, modern silhouette where the pattern brings a lot of personality to a very clean shape. And behind the pattern, there is the wood. MasayaCo's frames are FSC® certified teak, and it all follows our Seed to Seat® model, which integrates reforestation and craftsmanship. The trees are grown in Nicaragua, the furniture is made by Nicaraguan hands, and the pattern carries a Nicaraguan story. Everything is connected, from the seed to the seat.
San Geronimo on a solid teak rocker. A clean silhouette, dressed in MasayaCo.
Paola: Before anyone knows the story, what do you hope people feel the moment they see your San Geronimo pattern?
Abril: I hope they feel amazed by the power of colors. Before they know anything about the festival or the saint, I want the San Geronimo pattern to stop them for a moment. I want them to feel the warmth and the energy of a celebration, and to realize that color can completely change how a space feels.
Paola: Since it launched, has anything customers have said about this pattern surprised you or changed how you see it?
Abril: Yes, though not because of comments directed to me. Those usually go to our sales team, so I rarely hear them. What surprised me was seeing how other creative minds have been inspired by it, looking for a place for it in their interior design projects. For me, that's a great compliment, because it means the pattern is doing more than decorating a chair; it is giving other creatives something to imagine with.
One recent project used two rocking chairs with the San Geronimo pattern on stage for a talk about the universe, and the design paired perfectly with the Milky Way as a backdrop. That moment was a realization of why I love what I do.
A Masaya Ottoman becoming San Geronimo.
Weaving culture forward.
A pattern can be many things: a color story, a design choice, a piece of home. In the San Geronimo pattern, it is all of those, plus a love letter to a festival and a city. Abril reminds us that color is not something to be afraid of; it is something to be understood and celebrated.
Ready to bring a little of Masaya's festival spirit into your space? Explore the San Geronimo pattern and the rest of our handwoven collection across MasayaCo's indoor and outdoor pages, and stay tuned for the next story in our Color Patterns series.
Related reading from the MasayaCo journal.
Growing with the Grain: Khurland Lopez on Shaping Design. Another conversation with a MasayaCo artisan, this one on the design and shaping side of the piece.
Inside MasayaCo's Teak Reforestation Program. The forest side of the story, with Noel and Bryan Lopez managing 1,300 acres under active reforestation.
Cozy Corners, Real Teak: Make Your Home Fall-Ready. The San Geronimo pattern in use, styled across six fall interiors.
What FSC Certification Actually Means for Solid Teak. The chain of custody behind every MasayaCo frame.
Seed to Seat®. MasayaCo's program page, with more on the reforestation model, the trees planted, and the land under active management.
An interview by Paola Luconi with Abril Zepeda. MasayaCo Editorial.