Maria Sigma is a weaving practice that creates limited-edition collections, unique one-off pieces, and commission-based work for residential, commercial, and hospitality projects.
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.
Maria is an award-winning textile designer and weaver specialising in 'zero waste' ethical hand-woven textiles for abode and dwelling.
She studied at Chelsea College of Art & Design and since she graduated in 2014, she has developed her own weaving practice in London. Writer of Weaving: the Art of Sustainable Textile Creation, and teacher of Weaving From Waste Workshop
By using exceptional and natural materials her work celebrates a timeless high aesthetic via 'zero waste' design and a slow-making ethic, combining a contemporary approach to traditional weaving techniques and focusing on raw natural materials and texture.
Influenced by my Greek heritage and fuelled by a passion for mathematics and craftsmanship, I make vibrant yet minimal contemporary textiles.
My work is an exploration of architecture, building structures, weaving traditions, natural landscapes, and storytelling with a distinct focus on deconstructing and redefining traditional weaving methods.
My approach to design is based on the idea of creating beautiful textiles through 'zero waste' design and slow-making craftsmanship. High-quality and sustainable natural fibers are key to the philosophy of my work, in which the aspiration for textile longevity through simplicity and sensibility is essential.
Weaving is my way of putting the everyday chaos in order and making something honest and beautiful out of it.
I strongly believe that the importance of weaving must be highlighted; fabrics reside in the everyday and inhabit almost every corner of a household; they create a boundary between us and nature, the culture of the body and the external world. They contribute in creating a sense of something familiar and beloved. The determinant role textiles play in our life, the power of colour, or the lack thereof, the achievement of high aesthetics through simplicity and the use of sustainable materials, are my sources of inspiration and motivation. This is reflected in my work and the use of natural shades, highlighted by creating different textures through different weave structures and yarn thicknesses.
Maria has collaborated so far with exceptional interior designers, architects, fashion designers, furniture makers, magazines, brands, and galleries such as Susie Atkinson Interior Design Studio, MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset Gallery, Hole & Corner Magazine, J.M. Szymanski | New York, Soho House, Jonathan Tuckey Design, Rockwell Group, Selfridges, The New Craftsmen, London Craft Week, OXO Tower, TOAST, F.j. Hakimian Gallery, and W Hotels Marriot in incredible projects.
Please do reach out if you wish to work together or commission work.
FULL TEXT INTERVIEW IN ‘ELEMENTS’ ISSUE, HOLE & CORNER MAGAZINE
SHOWS:
Chelsea College of Art & Design, London 2014
Good Design Greece Exhibition 2017, Athens 2017
The Prince’s Trust Christmas Fayer, London 2017
Cockpit Arts | LCN, London 2018
London Design Festival | British Craft Pavilion, London 2018
‘Opening Narratives’ | MAKE Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Somerset UK 2018
Harewood Biennale | ‘Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters?’, Harewood House, Leeds 2019
London Craft Week | ‘The Future of Craft’ at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower, London 2019
Hatch ‘19, The National Centre for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire UK 2019
Blanket Coverage, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran, Wales 2020
Collect | International Art Fair for Contemporary Craft & Design, London 2021
Flow & (A)symmetry, Adamantia Art Space, Andros Island Greece 2021
Weaving Residency at COS x London Craft Week, London 2022
Create Academy x Anthropologie | London Design Fair, London 2022
Weaving Residency at MAKE Hauser & Wirth, 2022
‘every somewhere’ MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2023
‘Objects of Contemplation’ MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2024