The best creative is born from perspective and perspective only comes from being human. No two lives produce the same point of view, which is exactly what makes this place so interesting. So it’s those lives, and the creativity that emerges from them, that I want to explore.
This week, I was doing just that. And, as typical, I stumbled on a treasure trove of women who are creating works of art, sharing inspired perspectives, and designing pieces we are all likely coveting. Tell me your favorite, unless you can’t choose one.
Janet Asante Sullivan
Born in Ghana, Asante Sullivan now lives in the US. Her art captures time, atmosphere, and inner life, made clear by the work you see above. On top of this obvious talent, she is an executive leadership coach for leaders in law, tech, and nonprofit organizations. We love a woman who does it all.
Palengke
Many of my best discoveries come in the form of shoes. These shoes? Designed by Jillian Santos and Paulina Dayrit, two twenty-something friends based in the Philippines with instinct and taste driving a new visual playground.
Ayllón
Originally from Buenos Aires, Inés Ortiz de Rozas’s designs feel equally like wearables and collectables. Thoughtful, considered, her collections, which now include handbags, remain understated without losing personality and presence. I want every single piece.
Grece Ghanem
I’m cheating. I didn’t discover Grece this week but I will always come back to her. Her mission statement: fashion and confidence as style has no age. It’s sad that we need to be reminded of this fact, but I’m glad she’s here to continue to prove it to be true.
Studio Solhem
Henni Gavatin is busy having a good time and it shows in every piece she creates. Based in Stockholm, each of her pieces, from lighting to wall art to decorative objects, are handcrafted and made as limited editions. The conversation piece you knew you needed.
Hernán Herdez
My one-sided love affair with Puerto Rican designer, Melissa Hernández’s brand began with an ear cuff. Her often two-toned pieces ranging from fine to demi-fine jewelry, carry both an understated elegance and an experimental quirkiness. A combination I have come to adore.
Rennk Studios
An immediate add to my things I want but can’t have list — this sold out jacket that connected me with Pelin Ersavaş and Özlem Şahin Gök’s brand, Rennk. Pelin is based in Los Angeles. Özlem in Turkey. Together, they create and curate a collection of Eastern Mediterranean-inspired vibrant pieces you will yearn for.
Zoísoley
Newly obsessed with ceramics and forever obsessed with pieces made by the hands of women, I discovered Artemis Sofia’s Silver Clay Collection and, naturally, loved. Imagine. Sunday morning, you pour yourself a hot matcha in your Zoísoley mug with hands dripping in Hernán Herdez. It just makes sense.
Steele
I recently acquired this Steele Evelyn Jacket and we have become codependent. Alongside a pair of Bermuda cotton shorts I wore all summer long, I am a newly converted Steele superfan. Founded by Jessica Reid out of Melbourne, I can confidently recommend supporting if you need to add some playfulness to your wardrobe.
Cristina Vázquez
Cristina uses watercolor, gouache, watercolor pencil marker and marker to render the ripples of water so precisely I initially mistook her work for photography. But the magic is that it isn’t. Spanish artist Cristina Vázquez pulls from joyful moments—like the feeling of floating freely in water—and recreates them entirely by hand.
House Janolo
I am a firm believer in buying gifts for yourself. The good ones, too. Not just the practical treats. House Janolo makes the kind of pieces that feel worthy of being wrapped, saved, and given with intention, even when the recipient is you. Founded by sisters Dujanah and Oloof Jarrar, the brand creates pieces that feel singular, personal, and indulgent enough to mark an occasion.
Sofi Perazzo
Whatever is going on inside the mind of Miami-based photographer, Sofi Perazzo, I want in. Her work evokes the freedom of summertime, skin that’s been kissed by the sun, all while quietly asking what it means to be alive. Dig into her work when you’re in the mood to feel something. Something…necessary.
By M(art)a Studios
Give me texture. Give me color. Give me Marta Studios. Marta Sbaragli was born in Arezzo, Italy, to parents who encouraged her love of art from a young age. Bless all the creative parents out there for helping work like this make its way in the world. After studying design in Berlin, she launched the brand in 2023. Her pieces carry a distinctly German edge with unmistakable Italian craftsmanship. Brava, Marta.
Ciao for now,
Kelly