Maria was born and raised close to the beach in Aveiro, also known as the Venice of Portugal, where she made her degree in communication design. Then she set sails to see more of the world, going on to living in Spain, Lisbon and India before moving to Berlin in 2013 with her then-boyfriend-now-husband.
Ever since she has been intrigued by art, by the idea of creating things from scratch. Working mainly in graphics and illustration, her passion also extends onto textiles. Hence, she still rhapsodises about her time in India where she worked in a research project funded by the Museu do Oriente in Lisbon, which enabled her to learn about different Indian textile techniques. An experience that still influences her work and decisions. Thus, she created Pankuka – a brand for hand-printed and illustrated textiles, manual printing techniques, eco-friendly inks and natural fibres. Chances are, she passed on her passion for fabrics to her daughter who is very determined in only wearing what she wants, making sometimes odd but creative fashion choices that never fail to make her mother smile.
Maria admires dancers and musicians but has given up trying to master this form of art after several attempts. “Maybe in a next life”, she says. Although she admits her talent in gardening is equally small, she pursues giving it a try and thus is very proud of her basil plant – which is hanging in there just like she is.
The Pickmotion Photo Picks have always been her go to when looking for some unique cards for her friends even before knowing about the company. Her favourite pick is ZG-0243, "unreal estate", created with @hey.luisa, because she likes the idea of having a home that you can take wherever you go.
Visit Maria and her work on her website!
