Where do you live?
I live in El Salvador, Central America

What is your favorite thing about your city or town?
What I love the most about my country is the people – very warm and hospitable. I also love the fact that almost all my family and closest of friends are literally 15 minutes away.

 Are you influenced by any of the traditional crafts of central america like embroidery? Are you influenced by the bright colors?
A friend of mine who is in trend forecasting, told me that even if it is unconscious, I impregnate my surroundings in my work. I do think I am very much influenced by our bright colors.

If you were not a designer, what would you love to be more than anything?
If I could stand the sight of blood, I think I’d like to be a veterinarian.. I LOVE animals – dogs specially!! (photo of Emma’s dog Winnie in her studio seen below)

Who are your favorite artists/designers?
Emilio Pucci,  I love Tricia Guild’s use color! (and her work of course,) Tord Boontje,  William Morris, Florence Broadhurst, Marimekko,  Maija Isola – love the simplicity of her designs!

What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
One of my biggest adventures was going to Iraq for a graphic design job a few months ago.  A USAID funded program needed a designer to develop all of the print material for a social campaign promoting healthy eating habits. The job required me to work for four weeks at their offices in Baghdad. You can imagine why I was reluctant, but the idea of helping others (even if it was in a very small way) through graphic design really caught my attention. This was right when the conflict in Egypt started – it was stressful, but we were in a compound with security, and thankfully, all turned out good and I made it back home safely.

Tell us more about your experience in Iraq.
Even though I was scared and intimidated at first, I did end up feeling very safe.  Once I was with security personnel and driving around a bit, the feeling I got from the Baghdad is that it was once a beautiful place, but was now in mourning. Where I lived and worked, I met amazing people, some local and other from different countries in the world – amazing human beings. We could not go out and see the city much. Security is tight and is taken very seriously, so I complied with everything they told me to do. I still get an overwhelmed by the feeling that there are so many brave men and women willing to give up their lives to protect us. Overall, being there was a great experience… surreal and thank God uneventful, but still surreal.

 How did you start doing textile design?
I was working for a candle manufacturer here in El Salvador. My team and I would design decorative candle collections. Remember the botanical candles from Pier One Imports? We designed (hand in hand with our client) one of their botanical collecions!  It was my dream job! I learned SO MUCH from my boss, my designers and co-workers and from my clients. We did this for around 5 years. Great years!!!!  Unfortunately, the candle industry started to shrink, but I knew I had to be just as creative in my next job. There are companies here in El Salvador that cherish design and innovation, but they are very rare. Surfing the net exposed me to some markets I was interested in but had no idea how to get into them.  A couple of years later I participated in my first show in New York and to my surprise I was approached by my first apparel client.  I never thought my designs could be used for apparel, so you could say it was a fluke –but a great one!

How was Surtex been for you? Do you participate in any other trade shows?
This year was my first time showing at Surtex and it was very good! I went there thinking I’d get clients for paper products but ended up signing a contract for a wall covering company. You hear mixed reviews about the show, as with any show. You just need to be patient, keep exhibiting as much as you can – people need to see you are here to stay and taking yourself seriously.  I also exhibit at Printsource, but I can only do it once a year. Printsource has been very very good for me too. I love that it is a small but very rich show – feels very personalized. And the organizers!   They are rock stars! LOVE them to pieces!

Emma will be featured in our upcoming ebook and you can see more about her on her site here.