Month: January 2014

Embroidery Club featured in Uppercase!

air Embroidery Club featured in Uppercase Magazine issue 20

air Embroidery Club featured in Uppercase Magazine issue 20

How exciting! The air Embroidery Club was featured in issue 20 of Uppercase magazine! Click to tweet!

I can’t tell you how happy, excited and honored I am to see my Embroidery Club in such a beautiful magazine, and in such great company. I am looking forward for the weekend to be able to cozy up on the couch and read the whole issue, cover to cover.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to susbcribe to Uppercase. It’s beautifully designed and printed, full of inspiring stories and images; in short, it is a magazine you will want to keep forever.

My heartfelt thank you to Janine and the rest of the Uppercase team!

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Estou tão contente! O Clube de Bordado air vem mencionado no número 20 da revista Uppercase! (Click to Tweet!)

Não tenho palavras para explicar a alegria que sinto; é uma honra aparecer numa revista de que tanto gosto, e em tão boa companhia. Estou desejosa de poder sentar-me no sofá, com uma mantinha, a ler a revista de ponta a ponta.

Se ainda não assinam a Uppercase, recomendo muito que o façam: para além do design bonito e harmonioso, está repleta de histórias e imagens inspiradoras e a cada número é, por si só, um exemplar de colecção.

O meu agradecimento à Janine, editora e fundadora da Uppercase, bem como ao resto da equipa!

New patterns available

patterns-air-1

Happy Friday to you!

There are some new patterns available over on my Spoonflower studio. A few swatches arrived earlier this week and, as usual, Spoonflower did not disappoint me. I won’t lie to you: I would love to design a whole collection for a larger brand. But while I’m taking steps to achieve that dream, I love that Spoonflower offers indie designers, like me, a chance to print and sell my own designs on fabric. From my experience, they have always offered a great quality and customer service, so if you like my designs, please consider ordering!

Thank you for your support: it is thanks to you that I can keep doing what I love.

Have a great weekend, and see you next week!

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patterns-air-2

Boa sexta-feira!

Hoje quero partilhar convosco que tenho mais alguns padrões disponíveis na minha loja no Spoonflower. Chegaram esta semana uma série de amostras, e, como de costume, a impressão não me desiludiu. Não vou mentir: um dos meus sonhos é desenhar toda uma colecção de tecidos para uma empresa grande, mas enquanto isso não acontece estou a adorar a possibilidade que o Spoonflower me dá – a mim e a muitos designers independentes – de imprimir e vender os meus padrões. A minha experiência com eles tem sido excelente, desde a qualidade de impressão ao atendimento ao cliente. Por isso, se gostarem de algum padrão, façam uma encomenda!

Desde já vos agradeço, pois é graças ao vosso apoio que posso continuar a fazer o que mais gosto.

E já que amanhã é Sábado… bom fim-de-semana!

Ana

2013 in pictures

2013 was a full year for my family and I. Personally, we had an intercontinental move from Panama to Portugal; professionally, my business underwent a massive redesign, allowing me to work smarter, focusing more on the things I love to do.

It was a year of change for the better, all in all, despite all the challenges that these changes bring along.

Here’s a photographic account of some of the year’s events.

As for 2014, I’m looking forward to a great year – more on that soon!

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2013 foi um ano muito preenchido para mim e para a minha família. No âmbito pessoal, fizemos uma mudança intercontinental do Panamá para Portugal; profissionalmente, reestruturei o meu negócio e a minha forma de trabalhar.

Foi um ano de muitas mudanças, de uma forma geral, para melhor, apesar de todos os desafios que tivemos. Deixo-vos então com um relato fotográfico de alguns dos pontos altos do ano. E viva 2014, que se prevê fantástico!

In January, we enjoyed our last month in Panama City.

01_Panamá-vista

01_Panamá-chapéus

01_Panamá-plaza-central

In February, we packed our home in Panama City into boxes. See you soon, my precious yarn!

02_Panamá-caixotes

02_Panamá-caixotes-2

In March, we arrived to Lisbon. Priorities are priorities, so we got our seafood fix:

03_ameijoas

03_percebes

We also took some time off and visited Cape Verde, where my sister was living. (We loved it so much, we want to return.)

03_Cabo-Verde-1

03_Cabo-Verde-2

03_Cabo-Verde-3

03_Cabo-Verde-4

On our return to Lisbon, we “ran” (I walked) the mini-marathon. It’s the one occasion the first bridge over the Tagus river is open to pedestrians, so I took the opportunity to do it. Beautiful views and a cheerful atmosphere made it a great Sunday morning!

03_mini-maratona-2

03_mini-maratona

In April we went North for a wedding and to meet with friends from Panama. We miss them.

04_Costa-Nova-1

04_Costa-Nova-2

I discovered a new-old yarn shop in downtown Lisbon, where I love to go.

04_discovering-yarn-shops-in-Lisbon

And we became homeowners. Yay!

04_homeowners

My first article on Uppercase magazine was published!

04_my-first-article-on-Uppercase-2

04_my-first-article-on-Uppercase

After three years of two-season-weather, we witnessed Spring.

04_spring

In May, through a serendipitous chain of events, I found my new studio space.

05_found-my-studio

And fell in love again (and again) with Lisbon.

05_Lisboa

Our shipment arrived and we slowly started settling in our new home.

05_moving-in-our-new-place

With the equinox, Summer arrived in full force.

06_junho-em-Lisboa

(and added new spots to my Lisbon Chocolate Tour.)

06_Lisbon-chocolate-tour

Had many meals outdoors.

06_lunch-outdoors

Lisbon dressed herself up to celebrate the popular Saint Anthony’s Eve.

06_santos-populares

In July, I saw my first illustrations being published in a portuguese magazine (Saber Viver).

07_my-first-illustrations-in-a-portuguese-mag

We saw Summer in the North of Portugal…

07_summer-in-the-north

…and Summer in the South of Portugal.

07_summer-in-the-south

In August, the whole family visited the Zoo.

08_flamingoes

I gave blood for the first time.

08_gave-blood-for-the-first-time

And prepared the launch of my Embroidery Club. (Fun!)

08_preparing-the-launch-of-the-air-embroidery-club

September brought the first signs of Autumn.

09_Fall-is-almost-here

09_September-in-Lisbon

In October, we started the Creativity Series.

10_creativity-series

Autumn arrived.

10_Fall-is-here

With Autumn, the first knitting workshop.

10_knitting-workshop

10_the-view-from-my-studio

In November we took a few days off and went North:

11_Conimbriga

11_Foz-Coa

In November, I didn’t stop embroidering.

11_embroidery-club

And thought about knitting all the time.

11_wearing-my-handknits

In December, we went North again. Embroidering with a view!

12_embroidering-with-a-view

It was fun to be with friends and family for the holidays.

12_holidays-are-coming

How about your year? If you’re inspired to share your own recap, leave the link in the comments section.

Happy New Year, everyone!

O tricot e a viagem no tempo

knitting-workshop-air

One of my projects during the holidays was to dedicate time to my favorite hobby: knitting. Sometimes I get so busy I completely forget about leisure, about time off, about doing the things I love to do just because.

So, during the break, I enjoyed dedicating a good chunk of time to something that isn’t necessarily work related: knitting a shawl for me. Just because I love shawls.

The yarn is a (delicious) mix of silk and mohair from Araucania yarns; I bought it in August 2012 back in Santiago de Chile, when I went there to accompany my husband on one of his work trips. I remember this purchase as if it were yesterday: I think I spent more than one hour in the shop, choosing yarns and colors, engaging in a long and fruitful conversation with the shop keeper. I came out of that shop with a warm heart and an armful of different yarns I couldn’t wait to try.

I finally got to sample this one. I’m knitting the Laminaria shawl and you can check my ravelry project page here. I don’t mind the slow progress: knitting is a pleasure – and wearing the final product will be a pleasure, too.

If you don’t know how to knit and would like to try, attend a workshop! If you’re in Lisbon next Saturday, January 18, please come!

To be sure you don’t miss anything, sign up for email updates and get a free illustration (plus free access to all the freebies).

Have a great week, everyone!

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Buying knitting yarn in Santiago
Um dos meus objectivos para as férias de Natal era dedicar algum tempo ao meu hobby favorito: o tricot. Às vezes a vida mete-se no caminho, o trabalho transforma-se numa prioridade e o ócio, esse, lá se vai pela janela. E por isso, este Natal, lancei-me a um projecto que queria fazer e não tinha tido oportunidade de começar: um novo xaile.

(Abro um parêntesis para contar que este Inverno tenho usado os meus xailes todos os dias, com um prazer que não consigo descrever. Jamais pensei que fosse uma peça tão versátil e tão útil! Por isso, já percebi que não existe o conceito de “xailes a mais”, sobretudo os tricotados à mão. Fecho parêntesis.)

A receita que estou a seguir é a do xaile Laminaria, e a minha página de projecto no ravelry vive aqui. O fio, essa maravilha da natureza e do engenho humano, é uma mescla de seda e mohair (nada vegan, portanto) que comprei na loja Cuentapuntos, em Santiago do Chile, quando em Agosto de 2012 acompanhei o senhor meu marido numa viagem de negócios até à ponta sul do continente americano. Lembro-me dessa compra como se fosse ontem: estive mais de uma hora com a senhora que me atendeu, a escolher cores, a fazer perguntas, a trocar opiniões, a conversar. Saí de lá com o coração quente e um saco cheio de meadas, e hoje, ao tricotar este novelo, lembro-me dessa altura, do que sentia nesse momento, das emoções dessa viagem. E viva o tricot por me proporcionar esta viagem no tempo!

Para quem não sabe tricotar: aprendam! É uma actividade tão boa para relaxar, conhecer novas coisas, fazer amizades! Dia 18 de Janeiro dou workshop cá no atelier, querem vir?

Para estarem sempre em cima do acontecimento, convido-vos a assinar a minha newsletter – e ainda recebem uma ilustração gratuita (mais acesso, também gratuito, à zine “airing from Lisbon” e outras surpresas).

Boa semana!

Creativity Series: Camilla Tincati

Lufthansa - Flying over the Dolomiti
Image: Lufthansa flying over the Dolomiti, by Alessandro Gottardo, Shout.

Hello everyone!

Today we celebrate the Three Wise Men and, with it, the end of the Holiday Season. It was a fantastic couple of weeks but I’m also very happy to be back to work.

You may be asking why? And that is because today I will share with you Camilla Tincati’s view of creativity. Camilla is a medical doctor and a scientist working at the Department of Health and Sciences of the University of Milan. She is also a friend of a friend, and we met last Summer, here in Lisbon, for an evening of lots of conversations. I had a lot of fun meeting Camilla and Alex (her husband and author of the wonderful illustration above, you can check Alex’s portfolio here) and am very happy to share her view on this topic I am so passionate about.

Thank you, Camilla and Alex, for your thoughts and wonderful art!

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Creativity is finding a way to overcome an obstacle, inventing a tool to solve a problem.

Creativity is the essence of mankind, it is what makes us different from other species.

Creativity is conceiving an idea.

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Thank you, Camilla! Loved reading your view, specially where you state – and I fully agree – that creativity is the essence of mankind.

Have a great 2014, Camilla, Alex and everyone!

This post is part of my Creativity Series project, where I ask friends, on and offline, how they define creativity. Sign up for email updates. And let me know if you want to participate!