We are proud and excited to start a new project. MA RA MI was awarded with a project financed by the Romanian Ministry of Culture. Traditional crafts meet modern design. A micro collection that tells the story of our roots, the legacy of the ancestors, the essence of our identity.

A year ago, beginning of February 2015, Abu Dhabi: the most important festival celebrating Emirati culture is gathering early what is most representative for this country in terms of art, crafts, food, traditions, architecture and many others. Absorbing and getting inspired from all the events scheduled during Qasr al Hosn Festival, simply to highlight to the world how important ones culture is, through all its aspects.

Once upon a time, when MA RA MI was just a dream, the Romanian traditional elements crafted by local artisans where used for a one of a kind "couture" collection -  signed by Philippe Guilet in 2011/2012 for 100%.RO project. Back then Andra Clitan, the founder of MA RA MI, was the Studio Director for this great project, and one of her most important duties was to give consultancy on Romanian traditional art and crafts. 100%.RO was a unique project that inspired many people, not just the team and the public, but also the craftsmen from different areas in Romania, showing them that their work is highly appreciated and can be the fundament of an exquisite haute couture collection.

I feel a bit nostalgic these days, therefore I will treat you with a special story from my previous life. The life before coming to live in Far and Middle East. It was the spring of 2011, and together with other four European designers we visited Armenia, meeting the four selected Armenian designers to be our pairs in a EUNIC/unique project: “Fashion Road: Dialogue across Borders”. And the adventure started. From the Paradjanov Museum to the Museum of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran), from the Armenian Genocide Museum to the ancient churches such as Etchmiadzin Cathedral, everywhere you look you find something extraordinary – under a very ordinary appearance. From tasting Ararat brandy to enjoying the delicious different fruits in chocolate, but nevertheless savoring the impressive healthy Armenian cuisine, all this trip was a delight for the senses. What about our exploratory trip for fashion purposes? Here I let my pics to tell the story. Vivid in my memory like it happened yesterday...

The International Textile Fair Dubai 2015 is an excellent place to meet professionals in fashion - this year's edition was a great selection of people, trends and topics. I had the chance to attend this event as a speaker, presenting my work as a true showcase of multicultural diversity: a glimpse of Transylvanian crafts in the Middle East. It is more and more obvious for everybody that MA RA MI is rather an international brand than simply a Romanian oriented one.

Another culture I want to share with you, another way of living and especially many amazing crafts to be discovered. Vietnamese culture it's surprising and intriguing, as Asia more often can be, a mixture of Asian culture with French elements, simple people but a sophisticated society, welcoming families and skilled women and men in so many traditional crafts. This country is another piece of the Asian world that I've started to explore more than two years ago and I decided to share it, as MA RA MI is more about fashion and lifestyle, rather then only clothes, focused on world's nations and their traditions. More will follow, highlighting the lifestyle, fashion, concept of living.

Having the chance to start my academic career in no other country then The Philippines, it seemed to me the perfect excuse to add a new direction to my life. Or perhaps not totally new , but the same one in different clothes: more challenging, filled with great experiences, amazing people and discoveries. The selection of pics bellow is meant to illustrate some of the Philippino crafts I discovered in my travels, like embroidery techniques kept from the Spanish ancestors or "pina" and "abaca" handweaving. Just a few people there are struggling to keep this crafts alive, in a country touched by the same illness like the rest worldwide: the lost of its identity.

Imagine a country spreaded on over 7 000 islands, faraway in the Pacific Ocean... Let's say that only the sky changes minute by minute, from island to island, influencing every piece of life. Now imagine how many influences shaped over the centuries their culture. So it's the perfect place to start my adventure, to dip my inspiration in this amazing blend of cultures, lifestyle, crafts, emotions. I'll continue my exploration with South-East Asia and Middle East. But until then, some pics from Baguio city, the first place I discovered here with of my first amazing students. Enjoy!