Meet Macarena Luzi | Self taught Textile Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Macarena Luzi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Macarena, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My work life balance has definitely changed over the course of my career. At the beginning, I didn’t really have it in mind. I just focused on my work and didn’t value the importance of slowing down and having some time for myself too. I think I still struggle to stick to a strict schedule, now I’m trying to set myself daily objectives and rely heavily on my Google Calendar to make sure I get things done and also have some me-time. I’m exercising two times a week also, and organize my schedule in a way I don’t skip those hours that are as important as my studio time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
A number of different events and small decisions led me to where I am today. Right after high school, I went to culinary and business school. Ever since I was a child, I was very interested in cooking and doing things with my hands. I also sewed and did small projects at home, sometimes with my mom since she is a Fashion Designer. After some 8-9 years in the food industry, I felt disenchanted with my job, not really connected with what I was doing. My work had shifted towards the business side and felt that my creative side was fading and I didn’t want that.
I started to think about starting a project of my own, more fulfilling. I picked up sewing again, and started selling some handmade items. That’s when I found the tufting technique and felt instantly intrigued. I got a machine and started tufting, started drawing, making collages and designing pieces.
At that point, the issue of working on achieving a better work-life appeared too. When you get older, this indubitably happens. So the idea of both my husband and I become freelance became extremely appealing. We could even share a studio space and do our own thing. It was also compatible with our desire of travel some more.
At first, the project was very exciting for me but not at all profitable. The first years are rocky, with lots of challenges and uncertainty. I’m still working on the business side of it all, learning from my mistakes and also talking with other colleagues about our shared struggles. Consistency is key, I always try to follow that.
I learned that working on collaborations in between projects have given lots of knowledge. Since I’m self taught, the chance of being able to work with very talented designers and illustrators have enriched what I do immensely.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
LA is such a fun and vibrant city. I’d take them to take a walk in Downtown LA, and have a quick lunch at The Grand Central Market. If they want to enjoy the outdoors, I’d take them on a hike to the Griffith Observatory. We could go to museums, like the LACMA and The Broad.
There is a great food scene here, and myself being a former cook, have tons of favorite places to eat here. Lately, we’ve been enjoying eating at Joy in Highland Park and crossing to grab a donut at Donut Friend.
We could also go to a concert and gran a drink afterwards.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m very grateful to have a parter in life that is extremely loving and supportive. He’s a very talented artist, and I have the pleasure of not only sharing my life with him, but also my studio space. We share everything, and the fact that we can work alongside is great. He provides me feedback, we can bounce ideas off each other and he even helps me become a better overall professional and person. I’m clearly a little biased, haha, but he’s awesome and deserves a lot of credit in my story.

Website: macarenaluzi.com

Instagram: @macarenaluzi