How our work Began
Marie Farneth and Maddalena formally started working together in 2016, laying the groundwork for what has evolved into Madda Studio—a collaborative textile design studio in Oaxaca, Mexico. Our work builds on experience that began in 1995 when Maddalena cofounded a nonprofit association in Chiapas and began leading textile and natural dye workshops for the organization. When Maddalena and Marie met in 2016, they decided to create a structure to continue working with the artisans from the region and collaborate with designers and architects to create rugs and other textile accessories, using local materials and craft techniques.
Originally from Rome, Italy, with training in art restoration and later in textile design in Mexico City, Maddalena has spent the last twenty-five years working in Mexico with indigenous artisans, researching traditional weaving and dyeing techniques. Immersed in the flavors and crafts of Mexico, she has woven the culture of her adopted home into her own creative vision.
Marie grew up with an architect father and a mission-driven public health educator mother in Berkeley, California. When she was four years old, she lived in Rome with her parents while her father attended an internationally renowned architectural restoration/preservation program. This experience ignited in her an interest in other cultures. She's since lived and worked in Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala and Italy. Her curiosity and focus on people, culture, the natural world and all beautiful things have guided her to her current home, Oaxaca.