“[…] A work-in-progress generates its own energy field. You, the artist or entrepreneur, are pouring love into the work; you are suffusing it with passion and intention and hope. This is serious juju. The universe responds to this. It has no choice […]¨.

-Excerpt from the book “Do the work “ by Steven Pressfield.

Joyful Colors in the Face of Sorrow. 

What was a normal weekend during the 38th week of my second pregnancy, turned into a nightmare that I never imagined living. I had stopped feeling my baby’s movements for a few hours, which was very strange since I could usually feel him moving throughout the day. We arrived at the hospital only to confirm that our precious baby boy Michel Alexander, had died from what we later learned was a placenta micro-infarct. This horrendous event was followed by days, months, years of deep mourning, where my sorrow was so great, that there were days when I felt that I would rather be dead too. However, at the same time, I was so incredibly blessed and so fortunate, that the life and joy of my 4-year-old daughter Camille Juliette, pulled me out of the hole I was in, helped me get out of bed every day, get ready for the days and go on with my life taking care of myself, my precious daughter and my lovely husband. 

At that time I used to live days that went mostly from gray to black, with great hints of light, however, every time I stopped and just watch my daughter playing, singing, dancing all the time, being so happy to be herself. Also, I had another great fortune: discovering that I was able to express my pain through oil painting and transforming the whole grief and darkness that used to fill me into bright images and colors. And that’s how I became a painter artist.

One day at a handicrafts fair in Vancouver, where I live I was admiring the creations of a talented woman who was selling some beautiful skirts made with fabrics printed with the images of one of her paintings. I loved it so much, that I knew right away what I wanted to do with my art: not only represent it with oil on canvas, but also in fabrics, on beautiful feminine garments that the women who wore them could bring to life with their moving silhouettes.

I am a Canadian naturalized woman born in Mexico City -la ciudad de mis amores-, currently living in the beautiful British Columbia, Canada, since 2007. Although my career background is Chemical Engineering and my creative work as painter artist began only as a therapy to get through my devastating experience, nowadays, making art, designing garments and being an entrepreneur working every day to create a living of it, has become my full time job. 

For my creations, I get inspired by my own real-life experiences as a woman, as a mother of Camille and Stephan, as an immigrant and as Sebastian’s wife. However, my deepest source of inspiration may be my belief in the nature of the Universe as a spiritual one. 

Some years ago, after designing a collection of T-shirts that were hand-printed by my brother Javier in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico, I realized how passionate, happy and complete I felt about both, the possibility of designing art clothing and the opportunity of helping people from diverse countries to empower themselves through designing, printing, embroidering beautiful garments, doing collaborative work with me and buying fabrics from sustainability oriented textile producers.

I greatly appreciate your time in reading a bit of my story  and I look forward to share with you more about some themes like 

• Visual Arts, life, challenges and allies of the artist
• Entrepreneurship experiences
• The creative process and how designers get inspired (trends, street fashion, Architecture, Technology and Culture)
• Sustainable Fashion and  exploring best ways to apply Sustainability in our everyday life.

When I think in terms of the probable viability of this business, I always remember something that my friend Benito Manrique De Lara once said in his Ted Talk*, “[…]you see, for the development, the construction, the mission to be an entrepreneur…do you really need a return on investment? do you really need any more return to your life than to be of service?”.  

May this enterprise be profitable for all people involved in it, not only economically, but of service to others. 

May our alluring garments provide great enjoyment, comfort and usefulness to our customers.

Sincerely, 

María Correa