We'd love to hear how your knitting journey first began.
What drew you to picking up the needles, and how did that grow into the career you have today?
My mom had a clothing store when I was little, so I'd always go with her to buy supplies and visit the garment workshops. I remember that while she worked, I'd sit and sketch clothes - I think that's where my passion for fashion was born.
Around that same time, my grandmother tried to teach me to knit, but I was really bad at it (I ended up with holes everywhere!), and I didn't pick up needles again for many years. When I met my husband, Cristóbal, I told him my dream was to have my own clothing brand.
For one of my birthdays he gave me a sewing machine, and I started taking courses. But when I got pregnant with my first daughter, I had to go on complete bed rest. One day he came home with a gift of knitting needles just to keep me entertained, and that's how I came back to knitting.
What started as a way to pass the time turned into a real passion. I began experimenting with fibers, textures, and constructions, and realized I could not only design the clothing, but also "design the fabric" itself through knitting. I never put the needles down again.
Tell us a bit about where you come from - does your home country, the landscape and culture, find its way into your designs?
And what can you tell Australia about the Chilean knitting community - is it as big and active as it is here?
I'm from Chile, an incredibly diverse country. In the north, we have the driest desert in the world, and in the south, breathtaking forests, along with mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, and an ocean that runs alongside us from north to south.
It's a beautiful country, and I think that diversity - consciously or not - always finds its way into my designs.
The Chilean knitting community has grown enormously over the past few years. We have a fair called Expo Teje, where thousands of people gather, and it's no longer just Chilean knitters - people from all over Latin America take part now too.
It's been really exciting to watch this community keep growing, and to have them by my side since the very beginning.
Social media must have played a big part in reaching knitters outside Chile too.
Has it opened you up to a whole new audience?
A huge part. Honestly, I think without social media it would have been very difficult for my work to reach as far as it has, or at least it would have taken much longer.
But there was another important factor too: having my designs published in international magazines like PomPom, Laine, and Amirisu. That gave me access to a completely new audience and opened a lot of doors.
The online courses I've taught, on platforms like Domestika and Knit Stars, also played a part, though I don't think any of that would have happened if I hadn't first been seen on social media... or maybe it would have, who knows?
We always adapt to whatever tools are available at the time. But what I do know is that social media connects us in a very particular way.
