TULYA MADRA / SANTİMETRE
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Tulya Madra is the founder of Santimetre Studio, a designer and ceramic artist based in Ayvalık. She initially worked in furniture and interior design, and over time shifted her focus toward ceramics. Porcelain has since become her primary material, the one she has chosen to deepen and refine her practice around.
Santimetre Studio was founded in Ayvalık in 2009 and is a design and production brand working with handmade porcelain in small scale production.
Its studio, located in the old Gümrük neighborhood in the center of Ayvalık, functions as the heart of the production. Just across the street, there is a small but characterful shop that offers a more direct and understated reflection of this work.
Tulya’s pieces carry a sense of thoughtfulness, timelessness, and quiet elegance.
Her studio is not only a place of production, but also a space for research and experimentation, a kind of laboratory.
Her relationship with color, pigments, and surfaces is highly intuitive; she creates her own tones and composes transitions with a sense of rhythm.
This approach reveals itself not only in color, but also in form and surface.
When looking at her collection, this language is clearly felt; the harmony of colors, their transitions, and unexpected combinations create a strong impact.
In form, she occasionally moves toward more striking and surprising explorations.
Tulya has a deep connection with Ayvalık.
Her roots trace back to a family shaped by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century. After many years living abroad, she returned to Ayvalık and continues both her life and her practice here.
This return adds a strong ground to both her practice and to Ayvalık.
Santimetre Studio is a production space that lives with its surroundings, shaped over time and in constant dialogue with its environment. Here, production is less about the outcome and more about the process itself. And this approach is reflected in every piece.
