The maker behind the studio
I'm Marina, originally from Spain, living in Amsterdam for more than a decade. I bead, I weave, I make objects that carry colour the way nothing mass-produced can: saturated, alive, a little bit stubborn about existing in the world.
I am a graphic designer with a master's in branding, which taught me that makers who build things with their hands are almost always the worst at telling their own stories.
I decided not to do that.
Studio Mandariini is built on the belief that handmade things deserve to be seen, named properly, and paid for fairly. Some pieces are purely about colour and joy. Others carry a sentence. A quiet act of insistence.
I'm interested in women's history, the ones whose knowledge survived in their hands when they weren't allowed to write it down. Making things slowly, by hand, in a world that rewards speed and volume, is a form of conversation with all of them.
Some people are born knowing what their hands are for. I think I was one of them - I just needed time to figure out what I was actually trying to say.
Made slowly, by hand. In Amsterdam. With a lot of colour, a few strong opinions, and an unreasonable number of tiny glass beads.
what I believe
The convictions under everything
Manual labour deserves visibility and fair value
The work of making is skilled, serious, and historically undervalued because it was done by women. I make things by hand as a deliberate act of reclaiming that value.
Beauty is not decorative - it is necessary
An earring, a wall hanging, a beaded panel - these are not luxuries. They are the objects that make a life feel inhabited and intentional.
Women's history is living material
I'm interested in the women who farmed, brewed, wove, healed, and got written out of history. They are the source material for my work.
Making is a form of conversation
I make statement pieces because I believe an object can carry an argument - and start one. If something I made made you think, good. If it started a dinner table argument, I'd genuinely like to know.