30 Facts About Barbara Sansoni

Kala Suri Barbara Sansoni was a Sri Lankan designer, artist, colourist, entrepreneur, and writer.

Barbara Sansoni was known for her works in architecture, textile designs, and handwoven panels.

Barbara Sansoni founded the Barefoot textile company, a company that is highly acclaimed for its handloom fabric.

Barbara Sansoni served as the chairperson and chief designer of Barefoot Pvt.

Barbara Sansoni empowered women weavers and transformed the national cottage industry.

Barbara Sansoni married Ceylonese Proctor and Notary Public, Lieutenant in the Ceylon Royal Navy Reserve, Extra Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General Hildon Sansoni.

Barbara Sansoni gave birth to two sons; Dominic and Simon.

Barbara Sansoni pursued her interest in buildings from childhood after witnessing the highly ceilinged, wide verandahs which were occupied by her father during his tenure as a government agent in Batticaloa, Matale and Kurunegala.

Barbara Sansoni pursued her primary and secondary education in Ceylon and in Southern India.

Barbara Sansoni studied at a boarding school in Kodaikanal and studied for a year at the St Bridget's Convent in Colombo for her Higher School Certificate.

Barbara Sansoni later moved to England and studied for five years at the Regent Street Polytechnic.

Barbara Sansoni obtained her degree in Fine Arts from the Chelsea School of Art.

Barbara Sansoni unanimously accepted the suggestion of an Irish nun, Sister Good Counsel of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, to become involved in a programme established by the convent in Wattala that taught young impoverished Sri Lanka women how to weave.

Barbara Sansoni founded the Barefoot in 1958 in an attempt to empower and guide women weavers in rural parts of Sri Lanka.

Barbara Sansoni laid the foundation by establishing Barefoot to provide employment for the young women who were under the nun's care on the request made by Mother Good Counsel, Provincial of the Good Shepherd nuns.

Barbara Sansoni began making geometric interpretations of her paintings on the loom during her early career especially after launching Barefoot.

Barbara Sansoni then established the Barefoot Boutique in 1964 which was one of the only outlets in Colombo at that time to supply innovative design items.

Barbara Sansoni worked as a journalist and essayist at the now defunct English newspapers Ceylon Daily Mirror and Times of Ceylon during the early 1960s.

Barbara Sansoni had many exhibitions in Asia, Europe and North America, showcasing her textile designs, drawings, paintings and handwoven panels.

Barbara Sansoni conducted her first one-woman exhibition in London in 1966.

Barbara Sansoni used many coloring techniques including the "warp and weft of colour" changing the spatial experience in readymade ways.

Barbara Sansoni has made several publications including Viharas and Verandahs.

Barbara Sansoni in collaboration with her husband Ronald Lewcock and Laki Senanayake co-authored a book titled The Architecture of an Island which is a collection of sketches depicting religious, domestic and public buildings of Sri Lanka.

Barbara Sansoni published her first book on children's genre titled Miss Fu and Tikkiri Banda in 2002.

Barbara Sansoni published a book titled A Passion for Faces in 2014 which recounts the collection of memories from her personal experiences at Barefoot.

Barbara Sansoni received the Zonta Woman of Achievement from the Zonta Club of Colombo in 1987.

Barbara Sansoni won the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in gold category in 1997 from the Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Barbara Sansoni was conferred with a Kala Suri from the Government of Sri Lanka in 2005 during the 2005 Sri Lankan national honours in recognition of her special contributions to the development of the arts.

Barbara Sansoni received a Geoffrey Bawa Special Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 for her contributions to art and architecture.

Barbara Sansoni died on 23 April 2022, about an hour after her 94th birthday.