Maria Gomez
Mexican embroidery and garment maker
Tonasket, WA
Maria Gomez is a master Mexican embroiderer and traditional Mexican garment seamstress.
She grew up in Mexico where she learned to sew from her grandmother and aunt, who taught
her to create clothing by making her own sewing patterns. Maria has been sewing and
embroidering traditional Hispanic garments since the age of six. She currently lives in
Tonasket, Washington, where she manages her own business, Gomez Fashions, making
alterations, decorations, wedding dresses and other attire for the local community.
Over the last twenty years Maria has built a strong business known for her intricate and
beautifully rendered wedding attire.
Maria’s family has a long history of traditional Mexican garment making and embroidery
that has been passed on from generation to generation of women. Traditional Mexican
garments and embroidery have a rich history and place in Mexican cultural practices and
events. Maria passes on the family trade and knowledge to her own daughter, Melissa Gomez.
As a recipient of a 2002 Apprenticeship grant, Maria taught Melissa the art of
traditional Mexican garment making and embroidery. Maria helped Melissa improve her
sewing, cutting, and designing techniques. Melissa worked with her mother on several
projects including the design of dolls, dance costumes, and traditional wedding dresses.
Melissa was also taught different decorative uses of thread, beads and sequins.
As a returning apprentice in 2004 Melissa continued to learn more advanced sewing and
embroidery techniques from her mother. Maria also focused on teaching Melissa the art of
creating and using hidden seams, matching embroidery techniques to material, and the
piecing and construction of complex garments. Melissa learned the art of sewing and
embroidery by observing her mother’s work. She learned to sew at an early age and decided
to take up the family craft to help with her mother’s business and to carry on the
family’s sewing traditions. Melissa attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia,
Washington studying textile design. Melissa hopes to design her own line of clothing,
following in the footsteps of her mother and continuing a cultural legacy.