"My designs are a message to others, that even in darkness, there is light to be found."
As a person, I have an affinity to the darkness. It's a relationship of love and hate, one that is intrinsically linked to my past. After experiencing a difficult upbringing, I chose to never hide from my traumas, and instead embrace them in life and work.
This was a process. I would have never described myself as thoughtful or caring. I didn't understand how to truly love until my child came into the world. By confronting my pain, I've learned to laugh freely, find joy in little things and how to love without fear. This approach to life has shown me that light can always be found in darkness, which has inspired much of my creations.
The most defining moment in my life came when I decided to start my own furniture studio. Before that, I worked as a project manager at a fashion brand. One morning I woke up with a burning desire, turned to my then-husband and said 'its time for me to start something of my own'. That day we immediately set everything in motion without so much as a second thought. That decision was very freeing for me. Many people say they are born to do something. I feel very strongly that I was born to do this, and that feeling cements itself further with every piece I create.
As an artist, I am drawn to illusions and the trick of the eye in both a literal and spiritual sense. I've noticed as people we often exist in contradiction to ourselves, making the human mind an illusion itself. I've been exploring these ideas to understand my being better and to examine how we as humans exist within the world at large. This kind of introspection has led me to a spiritual place of comfort and has become a constant inspiration source.
I am fascinated with reflective surfaces for this very reason as it holds a real mirror to ourselves and naturally catches the light, no matter how minuscule. When people witness my work, I want them to feel the heavyweight of emotions imbued in my creations, to see it for all its complexities, for tears to fall down their eyes and a smile to creep across their face simultaneously. Life is an intricate beauty, after all.
