Hello! My name is Isabel De Gregorio. Many people tell me Isa or Chabe. I was born in Curicó, Chile, and I lived my childhood in that beautiful and peaceful city. I was the only woman among my brothers, (I have three) and I only have beautiful memories of those times. My father is called Fernando, and thanks to him, everyone in our house has always enjoyed drawing, comics, sticker cards albums and painting.

 

In a world full of paintbrushes, paints, colored pencils, markers, and block sheets, it is difficult to subtract. The walls always had drawings made by us, the dining room table showed indelible stains of paint and my house was the closest thing to an art workshop. It was paradise from the beginning (although I was often ashamed to bring friends to the house).

 

My dad for many years designed the billboards of the cinema of the UC University, he made wonderful handwriting signs of the shows that came to the city, or some sign of a new store or bakery, and had hundreds of thousands of letterforms with different typefaces taken from the Mecanorma and cut according to their size and style needs.

 

What to say about his "cut-out" books. The closest thing to a Pinterest today. He cut any interesting drawing, design, or typesetting from newspapers and magazines and pasted it into a large used class book. Collecting many volumes that I always loved to browse. And also, as an art teacher, we were encouraged to participate in whatever painting contest there was. So I always got awards along with my brothers who also rescued my father's artistic talent. Once we were all awarded in the same contest!

 

In school, I was always the owner of the mural newspaper. The teachers left me with this task and I was happy. I think when I was little I had infinitely more imagination than I have now. In those days I did incredible things, sometimes in third dimension and always exceeded myself. Already on average, with a partner, also a designer today, they sent us to do the scenarios of the school parties, which were very massive, and it was always the best way to sneak away from classes. Drawing and painting.

 

I do not know if I always wanted to study design, but the truth, I can not forget my house, my environment and my creative brothers as inspiration, thanks to it I enjoy drawing, painting and inventing things; as for example the cards of the day of the father or of the mother. They always had little details that seemed incredible to me in the eyes of a girl, and I dreamed one day working on designing the “Village” or “Hallmark” cards or the Pascualina’s planner. I hallucinated with them.

 

In addition, my brother Fernando studied at that time Architecture in Santiago and my brother Juan Pablo, Design in Chillán, and always arrived counting their orders of workshop that I thought were fabulous. I had no other. I think it was my thing.

 

I left school and enrolled in the career of Design in Visual Communication at the UTEM in Santiago. And throughout my career in college, I enjoyed what I was doing. I liked everything! Illustration, editorial, typography etc. Everything as a whole for me was and is wonderful, an immense world to discover, and millions of interesting projects in which to dive.

 

After graduating, I had to find pre-practice, and with my dream intact as a child, I went several times to Village and Pascualina but nothing happened. On several occasions I insisted on both. But they never called me. I ended up doing the pre-practice in printing presses that made billboards and calendars. I never had to design something.

 

But for professional practice I insisted again. And they did not call me either. Already resigned, I had to find another place where to do it, in that place I introduced myself and they told me that it started that same Monday. But, shortly after confirming that yes, they call me Pascualina, and that's where my work life begins.

 

What comes next is in my Curriculum. The important thing I think, is how I got here. For me to keep my dreams as a child is what moves me. I want and always want to feel like when I was 8 years old, happy to do things just because I like and move from one place to another looking for new challenges that help me grow and learn.

 

Greetings to all!

 

Isa :)