Lace, Land, and Linen: Maria Yiannikkou's Printed Worlds
For Maria Yiannikkou, textiles are a way of holding onto the past while shaping something entirely her own. A designer and block printer working from her garden shed in North London, Maria creates handprinted fabrics that reflect a deep connection to both her Greek Cypriot roots and her English upbringing. Her work draws on domestic life, natural forms, and the inherited stories that shape who we are.
After ten years at The World of Interiors magazine, Maria stepped away from editorial work to care for her two young daughters. Creativity returned unexpectedly - sparked by the story of Virginia Lee Burton and the Folly Cove Designers. Moved by their story, she picked up a pencil for the first time in fifteen years. What began at the family dining table - drawing late into the evening, carving lino blocks, experimenting with natural dyes - soon became a deeply rooted practice. A new rhythm of making emerged, woven around the structure of family life.
Cyprus Village, hand block print on linen. Maria Yiannikkou.
Her latest collection is inspired by Cyprus, the island her parents left behind as teenagers following the 1974 Turkish invasion. Maria grew up hearing vivid stories of lost villages, intricate lacework, fig trees and olive groves, all passed down in fragments of memory. In 2003, when some of the borders reopened, she was finally able to visit the places she had imagined since childhood...
(...)
Want to read more of this article?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. We know our readership is passionate about textiles, so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories, and histories that fabric holds. Your support allows us to publish our magazine, and also ‘what's on’ information, and subscription interviews, reviews, and long-read articles in our online blog.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT
OR...to continue reading….
Magazine subscribers automatically get free access to all our online content. We send the access code by email with the publication of each issue. You will also find it on the envelope containing your magazine. Please note the access code changes every issue.
Image Credits:
All images courtesy of Maria Yiannikkou