I was born and raised in Brazil, to parents of both Italian and German descent.

When I was fifteen I went to a Technical School to learn Industrial Design but dropped off a year shy of getting my diploma. In two years I learned how to work and operate all basic tools in a wood shop and my first assigned project was to design and build a bench. 

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I am a creative, practical person who enjoys designing and creating new things out of old and discarded ones. I love the Japanese philosophy behind Wabi Sabi, which encourages us to appreciate and embrace the beauty within the imperfect. 

I am a self-taught web designer. I built this website from scratch, starting with a blank canvas.

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I love gardening and have been a gardener for many years now. As a young girl, I always watched my mom tending to her garden beds – my mother always had beautiful gardens. I remember what was planted where – almost every detail. Because of this, I still hold a soft spot for geraniums, hydrangeas, and bougainvilleas. 

My mom was always sewing. She made my sister's and mine dresses on her little green Elgin treadle sewing machine. Some of my earliest memories involve sorting buttons from her button box, and standing next to her while she sewed, fascinated with the needle that went up and down as the treadle rocked back and forth.
She never really took it to teach me, but she knew I was watching her closely and as it turns out those moments watching her were the best, most treasured lessons. I remember her making a shower curtain out of clear plastic milk bags (Milk was sold in clear plastic bags back then. You placed it in a pitcher and snipped the corner of the bag). She was always resourceful, especially when times were hard.
Her first words, when she saw my first upcycled bag were: "I never thought you had it in you".

I really enjoy breathing new life into old furniture. I have refinished several pieces that have been sold: dining room table sets, coffee tables, side chairs, nightstands, and kitchen hutches.

 

I love cooking and trying different food from different cultures. 
Growing up in a very frugal household, I learned to cook based on what we had in the fridge, pantry, and garden. Even in the most difficult of times, my mom would invite people into our home to share a meal. "There's always room for one more," was her philosophy. 
She taught me that food is culture and traditions, but mostly, that food is love.
My favorite cuisines are Brazilian - because, German, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, and Greek, and I have learned how to cook at least a couple of dishes of each nationality.

I believe there is no life without grief, no love without loss, no story without challenge, no happiness without pain, and no gain without burden.

No mud, no lotus.

Grief, I have learned, is not something we can shun or pass through. It is something that is a part of us and longs to be embraced. We grieve because we love. How lucky we are to have experienced that love.

I believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. You reap what you sow.

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I want to make the world a better place and to do so I believe it starts with me.

Whether by honoring my mom's teaching, gardening, sharing a meal or just being kind to my neighbor.

 

Carpe diem.
 

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