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Maria Sigma | Woven Textiles

Cambridge Heath Road
London, England, E2 9RA
+447583876416

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Maria Sigma | Woven Textiles

  • Work
    • Handwoven Products
    • Handwoven Cloth
  • Workshops
  • Philosophy
  • Commissions
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Connect
    • Subscribe
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Workshops

Weaving workshops in London for adults and kids in groups or one-to-one.

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Frame Weaving Workshop / 4 hours class
100.00
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One-to-One Weaving Sessions
from 140.00
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I am delighted to share with you that MARIA SIGMA has joined forces with the very talented furniture maker @charlesdedman towards creating a mini limited collection of his amazing furnitures upholstered with my hand-woven cloths. A sample of this very excited collaboration will be showcased at the @ldndesignfair at British Craft Pavilion 20-23 of September. Since I first started my business as an independent designer / hand-weaver I had dreamt of creating a small collection of furniture pieces upholstered with my cloth. I do love designing and weaving cloth for upholstery. It’s its thickness that attracts me the most! An upholstery cloth has to be thicker and more intense, which means I can use much thicker yarns, or it can be a great way to use off-cuts with a different finishing process. And I couldn’t be happier to go on this amazing journey with Charles! At the photo above you can see a sneak preview of the making of the first piece of our collaboration, which we will be presenting at the London Design Fair in less than two weeks . Charles pays much attention to sustainability, materials and the making process. He creates beautiful and elegant furniture by using off-cuts and traditional techniques. Τake a glance of him here marking up the seat top for our piece. He is checking for timber width, decorating grain and colour matching between the boards. In Charle's words, "when working with offcuts, it is important to read the timber for imperfections and apply it to the correct part of the furniture." You can also see the defining detail of his whole Turner range, structional as well as high design aesthetics. A simple step down from 35mm to 20mm creates a tenon to fit into a 20mm hole. More pieces will follow after the show and all will be available to order via Charles or my self in your preferable timber and cloth of your choice. • 20-23 of September // British Craft Pavilion // HALL 5 // STAND 5.16 •
Bobbins ready for weaving. I am happily finishing a commissioned project by @susie_atkinson of 6 extra large bespoke blankets especially made for a wooden motor boat of 1930s. Each blanket has its own unique combination of colours and materials, plus a different coloured hand crocheted stitch all around to match each cabin of the boat. There are all made on a natural undyed British wool warp in ecru and light grey and playing with natural undyed British Alpaca and dyed British lambswool on the weft. The production took me about 3 months: 2 weeks to make the warp and set it up on the loom and then each blanket about a week to weave, 2 days to crochet and one day to wash, steam and brush. I cant wait to see them all in the cabins! On the same time I am designing my stand for this year’s @ldndesignfair. I will be at the Craft Pavilion among 40 makers selected by @holeandcorner. And lastly, I am making a new warp to quickly put on the loom to make three new quiet experimental pieces commissioned by @hauserwirth gallery for their upcoming exhibition in Somerset at the end of September. So not much time for posting! Stay tuned to see the lovely blankets and the new pieces. For more details on the upcoming shows please subscribe through the website. Next week I will send out a newsletter with all the information.
It’s all about texture. When I first started weaving, 9 years ago on a DYI frame loom in Athens, it was all about colour. I was spending hours on trying to accomplish the right combinations of colours, the right amount, the right shades. I had finally found a new way of ‘drawing’. I loved drawing and painting as a kid. First with water colours on paper, then with acrylics, pastels, oils etc. I tried everything. I was really enjoying though applying them with my fingers. Especially on fabric. I wanted to feel them. So weaving was a new exciting way of playing with colour. It was during my degree here in London, where after having the basic knowledge of how to use a dobby loom and basic weaves structures, that I discovered how much more I enjoy playing with texture. It magically made sense why I was using my fingers instead of the brush. And then gradually I started removing colour and focusing on texture. Not only because it is much more sustainable to use undyed yarns and matches with my ‘zero waste’ philosophy, but also because it was challenging for me to aim to make something beautiful with totally different rules. With a lack of colour. Or at least what I was believing until then colour is. Photo: Lidi Cloth // natural undyed British Alpaca weft on natural undyed British wool warp. Isn’t it absolutely gorgeous that warm sandy pink/orange alpaca shade? There is such beauty and harmony in nature as exactly is.
// Greece 50s, by Joan Leigh Fermor @thebenakimuseum
Very excited to announce that ENTROPIA S3 Rug is now available in larger dimensions- maximum width 140 cm. ENTROPIA S3 Rug is a heavy weight hand-made rug, hand-woven on a traditional floor loom. Made from the highest quality of thick pure new natural undyed British wool in natural shades of greys in a textured stripy pattern. Inspired by my Greek heritage and by the colour palette of the British landscape, in combination with a love for maths and craftsmanship, this piece combines all wool virtues, a Cycladic simplicity, zero waste design and high production principles. In every step of the production the ‘Zero Waste Design’ principle has been followed, aiming to decrease to the minimum yarn waste and unnecessary cuts, carbon footprints, the use of machinery, water and electric energy. The environmental impact is being considered at all the stages of the design, the making process, and also at the packaging of this item. Visit the online shop or PM/email me for more information.
// PHAEDRA V2 Throw // Handwoven to Order That’s my first ever throw design. It was made during my residency in @cockpitarts - as part of the Cockpit Arts | ‘Clothwrkers’ Foundation Award. Drawing my inspiration on the colours of the Cycladic Island of Andros, where I spent all my childhood summers. The Phaedra V2 Throw intertwines natural British shades and the Cycladic simplicity in a bold twill pattern. This large hand-woven throw with a summer-in-the-inside, combines all pure new natural undyed British wool virtues and high production principles with a discreet Aegean blue hand-crochet finishing stitch on both edges that catches the eye - a reflection of our most precious summer memories. In every step of the production I have followed the ‘Zero Waste’ principle, aiming to decrease to the minimum yarn waste and unnecessary cuts, carbon footprints, the use of machinery, water and electric energy. The environmental impact is being considered at all the stages of the design, the making process, and also at the packaging of this item. Find all my designs on my website (link in bio). Please note that all items can be customised in terms of colour/patterns and dimensions to suit your taste and space. Just drop me an email with your preferences and I will be happy to discuss all possible options! How does your summer-memories throw/blanket look like?
After the recent news that @burberry burned products worth more than 30 million euros and created a huge waste instead of donating them to people, have put me in a lot of thinking. Fashion and textile industry is wasting precious resources on the planet and burdening the environment to a greater extent than any other more "necessary" activities and products - and all of this just to feed our growing needs for more and more clothes. Fashion and textile industry each year emits more than 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases - more than international aviation and shipping together - consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water just to plant plants to produce fiber such as cotton, creates severe chemical pollution from the textile processing and dyeing and sends to the seas more than half a million smallest tons of microplastics with microfibers produced when washing synthetic clothes. I am now even more dedicated to a ‘zero waste’ design and production ethic. I strive to decrease to the minimum yarn waste and unnecessary cuts, carbon footprints, the use of machinery, water and electric energy. By adhering to a ‘zero waste’ philosophy, I aspire to make hand-weaving an even more sustainable craft. I exclusively use natural undyed British wool which is a natural insulator, multi-climatic, easy case and long-life, non-allergic and odour resistant material. It is also renewable and biodegradable, which makes it the ideal raw-material for my human and environment friendly textiles. By choosing wool you're already obtaining a product made from a renewable source, that's naturally durable and requires less chemical cleaning than other fibres and when it comes to the end of its long and useful life it is completely biodegradable. Buy better. Buy less. Respect the environment.

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