For me, a sewing machine is EVERYTHING… My mother was a seamstress for many years in her youth; then she got married and took care of her family, and although she continued sewing, she had changed her focus and started knitting. My father did not contribute to my genes with any artistic vein, but he was always cheering me up with my projects. I always loved working with my hands, I am a very tactile person. Moreover, I especially love doing precision projects. I also want to tell you, that since I have memory, I am passionate about history and an eager reader. At the age of nine, I sat down for the first time before my mom’s sewing machine. Still remember –the emotion that run through my body when I began to practice with the first strips of fabric and maneuvering straight seams. They were very simple projects: small pillows, skirts with elastic waists, and dresses for my dolls. Mom was always by my side, checking on any mistake that could follow as an accident. Because in my native country –Argentina– I was attending a special school where the focus was Home Economics, I learned many kinds of crafts. At the age of seven, I was already doing my first rows of crochet, and I was cooking simple desserts. I still remember the teacher being very patient with me in my first project… When I was thirteen, I asked my mother if she could pay for me the tuition for a tailor’s course –at the famous Delego&Lagarrigue Academy in Buenos Aires. And how much did I enjoy these 3 years learning everything about sewing! I learned Dressmaking, patterns, to know the different fabrics in the market and the purpose of each one, about seams, the different styles of finishing a garment, everything about buttonholes, etc… At the same time, I had more Home Economics in High School. For when it was time for college, I decided to study law. I liked it in the beginning, but something inside me was saying that wasn’t my thing. At the same time, I began taking painting classes. I also concentrated my reading on art history and design. Well, as you may imagine already, after three years I dropped law. Around that time, I met the one that was going to be my husband, and has been the love of my life for 23 years: Walter Bravo. He is my friend, my confidant, my everything… And (something that I never imagined) my partner in our company, ART GALLERY Fabrics. I devoted many years to take care of my family and to try to become pregnant, –something that I could not do, and that after much investigation turned out to be endometriosis. I kept on doing crafts and more sewing, until in 1989, we made the big move coming to this country and I became pregnant; Walter began to work in the clothing industry. My life made a radical change. Everything was new for me: the people, the culture, the meals, the cities. It was such an intense period of adaptation, and for a good amount of time, I had no energy to do any of the activities that I always loved to do. One day my husband took me to Sears to give me (as a gift) my first Kenmore sewing machine, and it was like to come back to life! I was crazy about it…. Moreover, I was sewing the whole day. USA, –this wonderful country of which I feel so proud of–, opened to me an array of possibilities that I did not have in my native Argentina regarding crafts. In a few years, I did all type of new projects: beading, pottery, jewelry, rubber stamps, cross-stitch. I wanted to experience everything… On one occasion, I went to Jo-Ann’s to buy some zippers and saw a woman making a pile of bolts of fabrics. She stepped back like 10 feet and looked cross-eyed at all the fabrics. I asked a salesperson: What is this woman doing? “She is auditioning fabrics for a QUILT”! And what is that, I wondered? She explained to me exactly what was it about, and showed me a few samples that they had been hanging at the store. When I began to see the “magic” that could be made from triangles and squares, I was completely hooked! I bought more fabrics, notions and books and when I came back home, I began frenetically to learn everything I could. I made many mistakes along the way, but at the same time, I learned tons!
I never took any quilting class, but with time, I learned a lot about “traditional quilting” techniques. Within years, my taste was evolving. First, I began to “cross the bridge” towards art quilts. I began with landscape quilting and raw edge appliqueé techniques. After some time my style was becoming more abstract, and I it felt inclined towards famous painters, –but keep trying to work with the same technique.
However, it was difficult for me to find more color variations in batiks; and I thought to myself: Why not paint my own fabrics? Infinite tints and shades in the entire color wheel ….
Many friends saw my fabrics and told me that they were so beautiful, and that I should sell them at quilt shows. So I did. I started painting on a large scale and use rubber stamps in different designs: oriental, African, nature, typographical. They made a big splash at the shows. Quilters started asking me if I could do some of the oriental designs in yardage commercially. We traveled to China immediately to produce it. This way, my first collection was born. I called it “Oriental Collection.” The rest is history….
I am convinced that everybody is born “to do something” in life. You have this in your genes. It is possible that, –in the path of life–, you will have some twists and turns at some moments; but at the end, you will always find your purpose, your destiny, your place.
These are the genes with which I was born, and I am sure that this is what I will do for the rest of my life. Moreover, I am happy for that, because few persons have the privilege to work at something that excites them. But I feel happier of being able to share my passion for sewing and fabrics with all of you, because I think that the excitement that women have on creating their own projects becomes a passion they translate to everybody in their circle: family, friends. This is a passion they want to pass to their children as a legacy… the passion for “handmade with fabrics”.
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