My floral story began in high school working in a flower shop in my hometown, Laredo, Texas. I studied advertising and art history at the University of Texas, and followed an electric career path across advertising, public relations, beauty editorial, fashion (including two exhilarating New York Fashion Weeks), and tech.  Storytelling has always been a through line. I returned to flowers as a way to celebrate and thank women who mattered to me, and to connect with the most tactile and visual parts of myself. 

Carmela Studio is the result of things I've collected along the way. My work is informed by the dualities of growing up on the border between two different worlds, speaking and thinking in two languages, and being drawn to both nostalgia and reinvention.

Carmela García de Barrera was my grandmother, a tough woman who filled rooms with family and music. Even though she passed away when I was just 8 years old, she gave me a foundational sense of community and belonging that's carried me through life. Carmela Studio is how I celebrate and thank her.

When I'm not designing florals, you can find me with my boys and husband, most likely eating something delicious or working on our home.

Thanks for being here.