It’s time we introduced Maison M to you. The home of cult velvet pouches, quilted bags and unique dresses – or in the words of its founders, “a conscious collection of beautiful things.”
Founded in 2017 by working mums, Mooi and Margherita, Maison M was built upon a shared passion to preserve craftsmanship and celebrate all things art, vintage and travel. Every collection tells a story – a beautiful one, too. Stories of skilled artisans and faraway places that just adds to the allure.
Read on to hear more from the women behind it all…
We love the story behind things; we have both travelled extensively and collected beautiful items from all corners of the world. We had a vision of building a platform to showcase beautifully made fashion, homewares and accessories we had designed ourselves or found on our travels.
Our idea was to try and marry our modern designs with old-world techniques and a transparent production line. So many of the people we work with are old family businesses, whose skills have been passed down for generations.
We are both working mums, so starting a business which allowed us to work around school hours was a key motivator.
All our products are made by hand – and nothing is made quickly. Beautiful things take time. Corners can’t be cut in terms of production if you want the quality to be high and the products to be special. Even when similar products pop up elsewhere (as does happen, sadly), we feel confident that nothing produced on mass can ever compete with products made with such care and skill.
Being as ethical as possible is something that is very important to us – and something we consider in everything, from our makers’ working conditions to the packaging we use. As a small business, it’s not always easy, but we understand the importance of sustainability, conscious buying and the environmental impact of everything we do.
We are constantly inspired by anything and everything. It can be something as small as the font on a paper napkin in a café or the colour of a faded book cover on a market stall. It’s often the tiny things that spark the best ideas.
There is nothing we both love more than a good rummage in a vintage store or flea market, we both have a good eye for finding great things and are passionate about the process which makes all the difference. Visiting flea markets every time we are away is essential, not just for the vintage but for inspiration in how beautifully things are made and how we can bring that into new products that we design and make ourselves.
We are a small core team of four; the two of us plus our Head of Production and a PR. Alongside this we have our amazing wider team of craftsmen, some in the UK and others in Jaipur, Spain, Sardinia, Portugal and Nepal. We feel so lucky to have been working with many of the same people since day one.
We want to focus on building our vintage collection, with an emphasis on reworking original pieces. There are so many beautiful things in the world, we are passionate about how we can breathe new life into them. We would also like to expand our platform beyond products so that it becomes an online destination not only for shopping but for travel guides, styling tips and much more. The sky’s the limit!
Love Mooi and Margherita’s story? Shop Maison M over at our brands Bazaar today.
