I am an award-winning textile designer and weaver working under the name Maria Sigma, the professional name of Maria Stavropoulou. Working between London and Athens, my practice spans wall-based works, functional objects, and site-specific commissions.
My work is grounded in a material-led approach to weaving, combining traditional techniques with a contemporary perspective. I focus on natural fibres, often working with undyed, hand-spun, and surplus materials, exploring how structure, texture, and process shape the final form.
I studied at Chelsea College of Art & Design and have developed my practice through a combination of studio work, research, and teaching. I am the recipient of the Cockpit Arts | Clothworkers Award and the author of Weaving: The Art of Sustainable Textile Creation. Alongside my studio practice, I teach weaving through workshops and as an instructor with Create Academy, and have taught at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham and most recently at the University of West Attica in Athens.
My work centres on the transformation of exceptional natural fibres into textiles that emphasise structure, tactility, and longevity. I have collaborated with interior designers, architects, brands, and galleries including MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Flow Gallery, Soho House, Selfridges, TOAST, COS, The New Craftmaker, Jonathan Tuckey Design, Conran Design, and Rockwell Group.
My work is held in private collections and has been acquired by collectors, award-winning designers, and leading hospitality spaces. Installations include MANNA Arcadia, Athens Capital Suites, The London Victoria and Mandarin Costa Navarino, where the work engages directly with architectural context and landscape.
I am influenced by my Greek heritage and a strong affinity for mathematics and material logic. I reinterpret traditional weaving structures through processes of deconstruction and experimentation, deliberately moving away from rigid symmetry and restrictive techniques. Instead, I allow space for variation, irregularity, and responsiveness within the loom.
Sustainability is integral to my methodology. Through zero-waste design and slow-making craftsmanship, I work exclusively with high-quality natural fibres, creating textiles that prioritise material integrity and longevity. My visual language is defined by natural tones, subtle colour relationships, and shifts in texture achieved through weave structure and yarn weight.
For me, weaving is both a discipline and a way of thinking, a means of bringing order to complexity and transforming raw material into something precise, tactile, and quietly expressive. I see textiles as fundamental to how we experience space: they shape our environments, mediate our relationship with the natural world, and carry a sense of familiarity, comfort, and permanence.
Textiles with a ‘feeling at home’ - a sense of place and identity; functional or not, they reflect our daily rituals and become part of our personal collections and timeless heirlooms.
Please do reach out if you wish to work together or commission work.
EXHIBITIONS:
Rebetiko GRD, Benaki Museum, November 2025
Makers Space, Decorex, London 2025
London Craft Week, The New Craft Maker, London 2025
Homo Faber, Milan Design Week 2025
‘Roots’ XTANT, Mallorca, 2024
‘Objects of Contemplation’ MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2024
‘every somewhere’ MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2023
Weaving Residency at MAKE Hauser & Wirth, 2022
Create Academy x Anthropologie | London Design Fair, London 2022
Weaving Residency at COS x London Craft Week, London 2022
Flow & (A)symmetry, Adamantia Art Space, Andros Island Greece 2021
Collect | International Art Fair for Contemporary Craft & Design, London 2021
Blanket Coverage, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran, Wales 2020
Hatch ‘19, The National Centre for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire UK 2019
London Craft Week | ‘The Future of Craft’ at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower, London 2019
Harewood Biennale | ‘Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters?’, Harewood House, Leeds 2019
‘Opening Narratives’ | MAKE Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Somerset UK 2018
London Design Festival | British Craft Pavilion, London 2018
Cockpit Arts | LCN, London 2018
The Prince’s Trust Christmas Fayer, London 2017
Good Design Greece Exhibition 2017, Athens 2017
Chelsea College of Art & Design, London 2014
COLLABORATIONS:
The New Craftmaker, UK
Rockwell Group, USA
Hauser & Wirth Gallery, UK
F. J. Hakimian, USA
Hole & Corner Magazine, UK
J.M. Szymanski | New York, USA
Mandarin Costa Navarino, Greece
HAMREI, Portugal
Soho House, UK
MANNA Arcadia Hotel, Greece
Jonathan Tuckey Design, UK
Selfridges, UK
London Craft Week, UK
Mouki Mou, London
The July Hotel, UK
ABASK, UK
WLLW, USA
Flow Gallery, UK
The Garnered, UK
COS, UK
TOAST, UK
Mare Studio, Greece
Mouki Mou London, UK
Conran Design Group, UK
Susie Atkinson Design Studio, UK
Lang Architecture, USA
The Greek Foundation, Greece
Studio Noam, UK
Studio Reed, UK
Navy Grey, UK
The New Craftsmen, UK

