Who’s Marta?
Put in the simplest way, Marta is a portuguese young woman who loves everything textiles. And this is her place to showcase her love and creations.
Ever since she was a young child, Marta saw her mum work on all sorts of textile techniques: from sewing clothes for her or her barbies, to cross-stitch details on dresses or kitchen towels, knitting warm cardigans or crocheting scarfs, making plush dolls or her carnival costumes. It was fascinating to see things being born out of one’s hands. And Marta loved clothes and fashion, she would stare at fashion magazines for hours and then cut out her favorite clothes and make new outfits. It was no surprise when she graduated from Fashion Design in 2016, at Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa. She always loved how fashion allowed her to express herself and read others around her. Meanwhile, studying the fashion industry and becoming a member of Fashion Revolution Portugal made her feel like the industry was saturated and focusing on all the wrong things, so she became discouraged. After working at a souvenir store for some time and after traveling a bit herself (left part of her heart in Canada and Scotland), she came back inspired and wanting to dedicate herself to something she had actually always loved: textiles!
Marta started knitting at 13, her mum tried to teach her cross-stitch before that but with no success (she does it now and loves it). But that was just the beginning. During college she had the chance to try some other techniques, from sewing to embroidery and even textile dyeing and weaving. Even though knitting was her number one favorite technique for many years, she’s become more and more curious about other things she can do with threads and fabric, she loves to try new techniques and mix them, exploring mediums and expressions. She loves the thrill of creating new things with her hands and appreciates the time textile techniques take using it for reflection and meditation, learning about what she’s doing and herself along the way.
She’s also passionate about many causes, from fashion related causes to feminism, anti-racism, the environment, mental health,…, in the end they’re all connected in some way. Some of her pieces are dedicated to her beliefs and learnings and she tries her best to make use of her knowledge even when such topics are not the theme of a piece – they’re still present, being it in the construction, sometimes by being mainly made from upcycled textiles, reducing waste,… Also, Marta loves to talk, if the topic is something she’s passionate about she won’t shut up, so this page is also an attempt to put those shower monologues into writing with the hope of turning them into a dialogue too.
When she first decided it was ok to treat her textile creations as a bit more than just a hobby and started this blog, she had no confidence to call herself an artist. Insecurities rose from several sources but after a year of her Master in Cultural Management at ISCTE and lots of mental work and therapy, she now respects her craft, her work and her ever growing knowledge in the field.
Marta is a textile artist. She doesn’t limit herself to one technique as she’s a forever curious child, always ready to learn more, to share what she knows and loves and to fight for what she believes.
Marta 