Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Maria touched her first sewing machine at age 8 as her mother's assistant making clothes for her and her siblings. As life went on, sewing became a thing of the past until 1990. A tramatic injury caused her to leave her job and dust off her sewing machine to survive; not knowing that at the time, her life would never be the same!

Maria's work has become well known and respected in the industry... so much so that she has never advertised! Her business was and continues to be strictly built on word-of-mouth! Although she continues to create unique designs for her growing clientele of celebrities, she also continues to give the star treatment to every client that she comes in contact with; from weddings, to proms, and special events, or just a change of wardrobe! She is the Queen of Fashion in the ATL, Atlanta's Best Kept Secret! And to top it off she has a heart of gold!

Maria's work has been published in several magazines and she has adorned the bodies of many celebs including: Jennifer Hudson, Eva Pigford, TI, Kelly Price, Tyler Perry, American Idol's Kinnik Sky and more! She also created a custom dress for Samantha Brown of The Travel Channel's "Passport to Great Weekends" exclusively for Haute.lanta Fashion Week® 2008. The segment, which aired on May 16th, 2009, featured Samantha on the red carpet in Maria's custom designed dress. After much encouragement from her clients & due to popular demand, Maria Harper Designs has become more "retail" focused. Her designs can now be found in local Atlanta boutiques and will expand to other markets soon. Collections include: Couture, Ready to Wear, Swimwear, and Costume. Haute.lanta Fashion Week® Hearts maria harper Designs and you should to. For more information about Maria Harper or to inquire about her fabulous collection, please log on to: www.Mariaharper.com.