PHOTOS OF HOW IT FELT

Mia is not your typical wedding designer. She is an artist, a creator of ethereal spaces where fabric flows like poetry and love stories take on a tangible form. She is reshaping the narrative around textiles in the wedding industry, moving away from traditional drapery toward immersive, sculptural installations that transform venues into dreamscapes.

From an early age, Mia knew she was destined for an artistic path. Her childhood was spent immersed in music, art, and drama, but it was textiles that ultimately claimed her heart. “I always knew I’d pick one of those creative fields,” she says. “Art just happened to be the one that resonated the most.” Her passion led her to a college in Cambridge, where she experimented with photography, sculpture, painting, and digital media before specializing in textiles. But her journey was not without its detours.

From Skeptic to Scholar

Mia never saw herself at university. Coming from a working-class, single-parent household, higher education seemed like an unattainable luxury. “I didn’t think I was worthy of it,” she admits. “It was never part of my reality.” But thanks to the persistence of her tutors, she visited Norwich University of the Arts—and everything changed. The sight of the state-of-the-art textile facilities sparked a realization: she belonged in this space.

Armed with a newfound determination, Mia applied to just one university—Norwich—and was accepted. But she wasn’t there just to study; she was there to build something. “I knew university was a privilege, so I wanted to maximize it.” It was in her first year that she launched her business, weaving art and commerce together from the start.

Building a Business, One Stitch at a Time

Like many artists, Mia’s business started humbly. She turned her university projects into products, transforming sketches and embroidery into sellable pieces. “I’d take my work to craft fairs, set up a little stall, and see what resonated with people,” she recalls. Her first stall was an eight-hour test of patience, with just one sale—a £20 postcard to a punk-rock gentleman. “It was unexpected, but it taught me that art speaks to people in ways you can’t predict.”

Mia’s work evolved organically, fueled by her love for storytelling through textiles. Her designs weren’t just decorative; they carried emotion, texture, and movement. That understanding of materiality and form would later shape her signature wedding installations.

Redefining Textiles in the Wedding Industry

Step into a wedding designed by Mia, and you’ll immediately sense something different. Her work doesn’t conform to the stiff symmetry of traditional décor; instead, it moves, breathes, and interacts with the space. “I don’t do rigid symmetry. I work with asymmetry and organic flow,” she explains. “I want my pieces to feel alive.”

She is also intentional about language, rejecting the term “draping” in favor of “fine art fabric installations.” To her, the word “draping” is stuck in the past, conjuring images of polyester-heavy, uninspired designs from decades ago. “I’m reinventing what textile design means in weddings,” she says. “It’s about emotion, movement, and a sculptural quality.”

From Bridal Textiles to Art Installations

While weddings remain a core part of her work, Mia is expanding into other artistic realms. She recently completed a large-scale installation at Sketch in London, a venue known for its bold, immersive art. “It was inspired by historical paintings and the way textiles move in grand portraiture,” she explains. The installation, a fusion of textile and florals in collaboration with Jam Jar Flowers, is a testament to her growing influence beyond the wedding industry.

Her latest project? Bringing fabric artistry to film sets. “I’ve always been fascinated by set design,” she says. “There’s something powerful about creating a world that exists just for a moment, whether it’s for a wedding, a film, or an exhibition.”

The Art of Surprise and Trusting the Vision

One of the most remarkable aspects of Mia’s work is the trust her clients place in her. Many couples give her complete creative freedom, only seeing their wedding design on the day of the event. “About 60% of my clients want the final look to be a surprise,” she says. “They give me a mood board, a color scheme, and then they let go.”

This level of trust is rare in the wedding industry, where most designs are mapped out meticulously beforehand. But Mia’s work is about experience, not just aesthetics. “I want couples to feel something when they step into the space,” she says. “It’s about creating an atmosphere, a memory.”

Sustainability as an Artistic Statement

Beyond aesthetics, Mia is deeply committed to sustainability. Every textile she uses is repurposed, hand-dyed with natural pigments from plants, flowers, and food waste. “My background makes me hyper-aware of accessibility and waste,” she explains. “I want sustainable choices to be an option for every couple, regardless of budget.”

Her innovative approach to sustainability is gaining traction, with an increasing number of clients drawn to her eco-conscious ethos. She is also pioneering new ways to extend the life cycle of wedding textiles, incorporating embroidery patches to cover imperfections in reused table linens. “It’s inspired by the Japanese art of ‘boro’—a philosophy of repair and reuse that adds character to a piece over time.”

What’s Next? Scaling Innovation Beyond Weddings

Mia’s influence is growing, and with it, new opportunities are emerging. Her signature fabric cake table installation has gone viral, with clients from the U.S. and Australia inquiring about renting it for their events. “It’s surreal,” she admits. “We’re now developing a hire system so these pieces can be shipped globally.”

She’s also manifesting her next big goal—working on set design for a Billie Eilish music video. “I believe in putting things into the universe,” she says. “If you set your intentions clearly, they come back to you.”

With international projects on the horizon, Mia’s journey is just beginning. Whether she’s crafting a wedding installation, an art piece, or a film set, one thing remains constant: she is an artist first. And through her work, she is changing the way we experience textiles, one flowing, sculptural masterpiece at a time.

Visit her work @miaherrod