Born in 1972, Anna Maria was raised in a house full of her dad's paintings, a closet full of her mom's handiwork, hand-loomed wool blankets from her Greek grandmother and hand-knits from her American grandmother. Spending hours in fabric shops with her mom and sister on the weekend was as normal as designing her Barbie's first wardrobe using the family trunk of fabric scraps.

She earned an honors BFA in Drawing from the University of Tennessee in 1995 then opened a small handmade clothing shop with her mom the same year. Designing and sewing the label for the shop primed her for a career in textiles and small business.

In 2001, Anna Maria began freelance partnerships with gift and homewares companies and her art was eventually discovered by Donna Wilder, the founder of FreeSpirit fabrics. Her first fabric collection debuted to the quilt industry in 2005 and ever since her fabrics have delighted makers around the world with her energetic color and nostalgic yet fresh style. Presenting her exuberant quilts and sharing her self-taught process has taken her all over the world and kept her passion and growth as an artist moving forward.

As of September 2024 she is the lead artist and Design Director for Anna Maria Textiles, a division of Northcott. Anna Maria has also authored two sewing books, one embroidery book, one quilt making book, and continues to self publish a collection of sewing, quilting and needlework patterns.

Anna Maria is the mother of seven children and all of her big and little ideas have been sparked in the presence of her family. She shares the imperfect adventures of art making, quilting, gardening, mothering, traveling and home improving @annamariahorner on Instagram.