Sara Santoro

Sara Santoro is a Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay–based creative whose naturally dyed woven art and homewares are crafted from her small garden studio. With a Bachelor of Design in Communication Design from Victoria University of Wellington (1996) and further study in Landscape Design since 2019, Sara’s practice reflects a thoughtful blending of disciplines, grounded in a deep respect for landscape, materiality, and sustainable processes.

Her discovery of botanical dyeing became a pivotal moment, uniting her long-held passions for colour, interiors, and the natural world. Working primarily with undyed, New Zealand–grown and processed wool—often repurposing thread waste—alongside raw European flax linen yarns, Sara embraces a slow, considered approach to making. Each fibre is naturally dyed by hand using plant materials harvested from her garden or foraged locally, ensuring every piece carries a strong connection to place.

Sara’s process is intuitive and exploratory. She delights in the alchemy of dyeing and weaving—blending tones, layering textures, and allowing the materials to guide the final form. The result is work that is both beautiful and functional, designed to bring quiet, everyday joy. Alongside her Loom Studio practice, she continues her landscape design work, balancing digital precision with tactile creativity.