Welcome to my website! My name is Mariangela Bruna and I am the London-based Italian textile designer behind the label maribru.
Several years ago, when I moved to London from Italy, I decided it was time for a change of career. After obtaining a degree in textile design, I started maribru in 2019.
It is very important to me to work ethically and sustainably on a small scale, producing handcrafted and high-quality items. My pieces are made with pure wool from small British farms that do not breed their sheep for the meat industry and whose practices respect the environment. I work with wool from native breeds of the British Isles and I use the yarn undyed, so my work shows and enhances the beauty of its natural colours with their subtle nuances and their warmth. The plus on the environmental side is that I avoid the dyeing process, which can be very polluting and uses a lot of water and energy.
All my work is knitted on a domestic manual knitting machine, crocheted or hand-knitted, sometimes I also add some embroidery and often it is a combination of these techniques. I design and make every pattern and style, seeking to create unique and stylish, although timeless, pieces that can be treasured for a long time. My inspiration comes from romantic and nostalgic memories of my life in Italy and a love for contemporary, clean and simple visual styles; I like to think of my work as a synthesis of my Italian background and a material, the wool, which is intrinsically British.
I strive to make ethical and sustainable choices in everything related to my practice as well as in my personal life, so that these are not just empty words but a real way of life.
