Marta Aranyó made a career change at the age of 50, when she left her salaried industry job to launch her own business devoted to painting, her passion.
Major changes aren’t easy at certain points in life. But sometimes it’s worth taking a risk to make dreams come true. That was the case with Tinta i Vi.
Marta had been working as a draughtswoman her whole life, and she was in charge of risk prevention efforts at a company. But her drawings were highly technical blueprints.
After turning 50, a moment came when she had to decide how to move forward. She painted as a hobby and had several friends who worked in wineries, so she had a few ideas in mind... But what really helped her make up her mind was a childhood memory.
‘My mother would scold my father when he would spill a drop of wine on the tablecloth’, Marta explains. ‘I thought: why not try it?’ And try it she did. She saw the potential of wine as a dye and how the paint she extracted from it didn't disappear; it lasted. That’s when she decided that the idea could work, and she took the plunge, creating her own business.
A different approach to wine culture
From her studio in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in the Baix Llobregat region, Marta has devoted herself to painting with wine for ten years now. ‘It’s been very successful’, she says proudly. She travels all over Catalonia giving workshops. ‘I was able to make a profession out of my hobby’.
Biosphere certification came about because even though Marta had a small business, she wanted to be her best self. To begin with, Tinta i Vi does its part to help spread wine culture, which is deeply rooted in the region.
As for the environment, before going out to paint the vineyards, she impresses upon participants the need to be as respectful as possible of the environment.
When they get to the studio, all the materials they use are sorted so they can be recycled properly. And when they paint with wine, nothing is wasted. The same goes for virgin olive oil, since it comes from mill by-products and can’t be sold.
She is able to take these small steps even further thanks to the certification, especially because renewing it allows Marta to see how far she's come in terms of sustainability. As Marta puts it: ‘when you get down to work, you see everything you’ve done over the past year, such as the improvements in electricity and water consumption. You see the results.’
In short, Biosphere is extremely valuable in showing where the company is at regarding responsible management. ‘It’s a way of helping you see what you’ve accomplished’. And Marta doesn’t hesitate to recommend it to all companies. ‘If we don’t take care of what’s ours, who will?’
