Maria Zepeda
Design: Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery MA
Central Saint Martins UAL
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Furniture / Ceramics / Interior Design
My location: London, United Kingdom
Maria Zepeda
First Name: Maria
Last Name: Zepeda
University / College: Central Saint Martins UAL
Course / Program: Design: Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery MA
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Furniture / Ceramics / Interior Design
My Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: Click To See Website
About
Maria Zepeda is a Mexican furniture designer based in London. She holds a BA in Product Design at IBERO University in Mexico City and a MA Design Furniture from Central Saint Martins. her practice explores the relationship between materials, reimagining their roles to challenge assumptions of fragility, strength and support. Recent work focuses on the interplay of ceramic and wood, where ceramic becomes a structural base and wood provides grounding, creating furniture as narratives of balance and interdependance. Rooted in sustainability, Maria's process prioritises locally sourced materials, natural joints and tactile engagement as means of story telling. her background in product and interior design projects informes a sensitivity to space and cultural dialogue, merging her Mexican heritage with her life in the UK. Maria has been nominated for the MullenLowe NOVA Award 2025, exhibited at New Designers in London where she received recognition from Rupp & Form, and was shortlisted for the Only Natural competition.
Ceramic and wood have travelled through human history for millennia, shaping vessels, tools, and furniture that carry stories of culture, memory, and place. Sunset tales brings together these two materials in a furniture collection that explores an unexpected synthesis of wood and extruded ceramic. The project investigates perceptions of the fragility of terracotta and stoneware when placed in structural tension with the quiet solidity of wood. Each composition is about two sculptural elements that come together to make a functional piece. Drawing inspiration from architectural arches, ceramic extrusion techniques, and the colour gradients found in Mexican cacti Sunset Tales was handmade with locally sourced wood in Mexico and extruded clay crafted at London, the work reflects a cultural journey between Mexico and the UK and encourages us to re-imagine the conventional roles assigned to these materials and the unexpected harmony when they meet. Wood becomes medium, clay becomes structure, the joint becomes a tale
Competitions
