Maria Margarita Antonio
What is your full name?
Maria Margarita Antonio.
What is your first name?
Margi.
Where were you born?
Manila, Philippines.
Where do you currently reside and work?
I waspreviously based in New York City, now I am based in Lisbon, Portugal.
What is your educational background?
I obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Analytics and a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television, and Theater from the University of Notre Dame.
What are other details of experiences, work or otherwise, that have led you to your current work?
I have been working since I was 15 in Singapore — first as a photographer for events and portraits, shooting my first wedding at 16. From then, I had internships, and also worked in social media and digital marketing, experiential marketing, modeling and content creation. Since 2023, I have worked in perfume marketing.
How would you describe your practice/business?
It is a curation of independent Southeast Asian labels for life between islands and cities. A celebration of contemporary Southeast Asian creativity and an expression of our diaspora, it brings together pieces designed to be lived in. “Sala” means “living room” in both Tagalog and Portuguese—a reminder that home is not just a place, but also something you carry with you.
What are the highlight projects in your career so far?
I have only just started building sala, so right now, the highlight of my career has been creating the world around it. Working in digital and brand marketing taught me that people connect with the stories, feelings and a sense of belonging that the pieces carry. With sala, I want people to feel both a sense of freedom and the comfort of home, wherever it may be.It is also incredibly rewarding to partner with independent brands from the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, and bring them together into one shared story for our first collection. The creative minds behind these brands have inspired me for so long, so to connect with them has been wonderful.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on officially launching sala culture, starting with pop-ups across Europe and the United States. My hope is to eventually create both an online home and a physical one for contemporary Southeast Asian brands—a place where people can discover pieces with stories, linger, connect and feel as though they have stepped into their own sala.
Instagram: @margiantonio @salaculture
Website: www.sala-culture.com