Design Collection : Maria Sigma’s Handwoven Designs – The Beauty of Sustainable Craftsmanship

February 24, 2019 Maria Sigma

“I have always been interested in hand made individually crafted designs and brands produced locally in the UK. Over the last few months I have become familiar with quite a few really interesting UK brands that I would like to start introducing to you on my blog. London Design Fair was a really good place to meet talented crafts people. This is where I saw Maria’s beautiful textiles.”

— Anya Parish

In 2010 Maria decided to come to London and do a second degree in Textile Design, specialising in handweaving at Chelsea College. During her degree in London and after having the basic knowledge of how to use a dobby loom and basic weave structures, she discovered how much more she enjoyed playing with texture. It magically made sense why she was using her fingers to draw instead of a brush – it was all about texture! She gradually started removing colour and focusing on texture. Not only because it is much more sustainable to use undyed yarns and matches with her ‘zero waste’ philosophy, but also because it was challenging to aim to make something beautiful with totally different rules. With a lack of colour. Or, at least, what she thought colour was all about, until then.
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Her vision is to have a sustainable creative craft-based business. In the next two years she aspires setting up her own weaving studio/showroom and space for workshops. Her goal is to sell one-off pieces through small high-end boutique shops and galleries, and collaborate with interior design studios for bespoke commissioned work. Among her plans is to collaborate with furniture makers and create together a series of upholstered hand-made furniture.

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MS @ Country Living | Modern Rustic, Issue 13

February 20, 2019 Maria Sigma

Xenodice Turner Stool

MS @ The Observer Magazine

January 22, 2019 Maria Sigma

Read the full article here.

Hole & Corner SELECTS: Maria Sigma

November 3, 2018 Maria Sigma

Maria Sigma | ALCYONE (OF THE SKY) Jacket

As part of the British Craft Pavilion this weekend at the Old Truman Brewery weaver Maria Sigma shows her homeware textiles. In the Elements Issue, she speaks about her zero waste philosophy, her love for wool as a material and how her work connects back to the earth…

‘I would say the most fundamental element in my work is the zero-waste philosophy and the use of natural materials,’ says weaver and textile designer Maria Sigma, who creates pieces for interiors and fashion from her London home studio using un-dyed or naturally dyed organic fibres.
The overarching ethos in her work is sustainability. ‘I’m trying to create the minimum of waste yarns – no unnecessary cuts and minimum use of machinery, energy and water,’ Sigma explains. The concept of reducing waste runs through her entire practice – from design to making and packaging. What started as a part of a university project has now become an intrinsic part of her work – one that Sigma says she relishes. ‘It’s a kind of challenge for me. It puts more limitations on my work – and I enjoy that.’

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

MS @ The Evening Standard

October 24, 2018 Maria Sigma

Looming marvellous:the ancient art of weaving is finding new fans as we reconnect with tactile materials in a digital age

Small in scale, London's modern weavers want you to explore handmade products in an era of mass-production.

by Barbara Chandler

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MS @ Evening Standard // The highlights of London Craft Week 2018

June 10, 2018 Maria Sigma

'Home of Craftsmanship' at Bourdon House - Hole & Corner X Dunhill

Hole and Corner collaborated with Dunhill this year, taking over their Mayfair flagship store at Bourdon House. Curating the ‘Home of Craftsmanship’, the store was filled with live demonstrations from various artisans: glassblowing with Michael Ruh, pottery with Florian Gabsby, weaving with Maria Sigma, spoon carving with Mark Reddy, knife making with Pole and Hunt and leather tailoring with the Dunhill team themselves. It was an innovative way to showcase an array of crafts and connect personally with the makers.

Read the full article here.

Interview @ Hole & Corner Magazine // London Craft Week 2018

June 10, 2018 Maria Sigma

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For London Craft Week, weaver Maria Sigma moves her enormous loom from her home studio into The Home of Craftsmanship. While she demonstrates her work in a new environment, we caught up with Sigma about the delicate art of working from home.

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Working in her home studio has also given her so much more time – and the ability to choose her own schedule. ‘I enjoy working whatever hours I want, because I like to work until late,’ she says. And it is not just the flexible hours but the ability to actually use her home daily that she appreciates. ‘I feel that if I am not working from home, I am not enjoying it enough.’ Every day Sigma cooks in her kitchen, something she says is another way of connecting with a more tactile world. ‘We are very distanced from doing anything with our hands, we even have ready-cut vegetables,’ she says. ‘We are distant from how things used to be made by hand, by people. And I think we don’t always notice it.’

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