Maria Malo

I was born in Madrid,
but I grew up between horses, snowy mountains, and the sea.

I studied Environmental Science,
yet life kept pulling me away from classrooms
and deeper into the wild.

At twenty, I left my father’s house
and moved to the mountains—
a temporary stop, I thought.
I became a ski instructor,
chasing winter in the snow
and summer by the sea.

Windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing…
working in beachside restaurants to cover my expenses,
and somewhere in between,
I started making t-shirts.

What began as a box shared among friends
turned, almost overnight,
into something much bigger.

Suddenly,
my designs were in 300 stores across Spain,
in the top ten department stores,
and distributed throughout Europe.

I was young,
driven,
but inexperienced.
No financial knowledge.
No safety net.
Just intuition and momentum.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit,
the house of cards collapsed.
Clients cancelled orders.
Banks withdrew support.
And I lost everything—
not only the company,
but my home,
my relationship,
and many of the people I once called friends or family.

But that fall was the beginning of something far more meaningful.

While I was doing all I could to rescue what remained on the outside,
I was also entering a deep process on the inside.
A return to myself.
To presence.
To truth.

Yoga.
Meditation.
Fasting.
Therapy.
Family constellations.
Mental ecology.
Psychomagic acts, sacred plant ceremonies...

It was painful.
Beautiful.
Necessary.

I began to see clearly.
To feel clearly.

How could I,
someone who feels so deeply with and for Nature,
be working inside one of the most polluting industries on Earth?

I started to hate what I was doing—
not because of fashion itself,
but because of what it had become.

And yet,
if I had once found success without even chasing it,
maybe life was showing me something bigger.

Maybe I was being called
to create not just for myself,
but in service.
To show that it is possible—
to make clothes respectfully,
to honour the Earth,
to support local artisans,
to live in coherence with nature
and still make a living
in a world driven by consumption.

Maybe it wasn’t about selling more.
Maybe it was about creating
with consciousness,
as a quiet act of resistance—
and a gentle invitation to remember.

So in 2014, María Malo Line was born.
Not just a brand, but a path with purpose.
A weaving of values, of beauty and truth,
of softness and strength.
A way to dress the soul, as we walk this Earth
with care.

During those years of deep inner searching I began to write.

I wrote about what I loved in my work,

about what I believed was possible

when creativity aligns with values.

And I imagined my life—

in every detail.

How I wanted to wake up.

What I wished to feel.

The first thing I would do before the day began.

The fabrics I would touch,

the natural dyes I would use,

the slow, conscious ways I would print and create.

And with that vision,

the call arrived:

Bali.

Back then,

Bali still felt wild and sacred.

The island of the gods.

A place where returning to my essence was effortless.

Where I could greet the sunrise from the sea,

riding glassy waves.

Where barefoot living

was not a dream but a rhythm.

Where food nourished both body and soul,

and where work became a joy—

light, natural, and alive.

Much has changed since then.

The island, like everything, has sadly shifted.

But the part of me that arrived here wide open—

remembers.

And what I came seeking for my work

continues to flow through everything I create.