A journey through the ages

Started in 1997, Maya has been a story of labour, love, and a commitment to do something better. Conceptualised by Rosalind Pereira, an entrepreneur and social activist, her passion to revive marginalised craft forms and empower women and grass-roots-level artisans (including men), led to the launch of the label.

“Traditional crafts can and will survive with sensitive inputs of design, product development, and creation of pieces that are relevant in an urban context. If handicrafts have to survive, they should be financially viable from day one. It’s a challenge for small organisations like ours when fast fashion is the norm.”

As a brand, Maya approaches the creative process with a more equitable outlook. In this world of fast fashion, we believe that handmade products designed and created sustainably by an empowered workforce will make all the difference. 

Our inspiration comes from nature and travel, and our pieces are designed to make a statement. Driven by the bold, contemporary women that wear us, every piece is made to be unique.

Keeping people, product, and process at the heart of everything we do, we encourage employment of women and provide support in health, education, and savings to our craftspeople. By infusing traditional handicrafts with modern designs and unique ideas, Maya continues to create bold statement pieces for urban women. And with a focus on sustainable fashion, the making of our pieces create negligible carbon footprint, and we prioritise the use of natural, nontoxic, renewable materials that protect the earth.