To you,

From the Beginning…

I was born in Alamar, Cuba where the air is heavy with salt, guayabas,music and sweat. My parents made the courageous choice to leave Cuba when i was almost 8 years old. We landed in Miami, where I lived until I went off to study Acting in New Jersey and London.
As is often a theatre actors trajectory… I moved to New York City, I lived in a rhythm of auditions, late night Cuban salsa nights, jazz clubs, dinner with friends , Kundalini yoga at dawn, slow cooking , and European films flickering against my walls.
I tasted life with all my senses, letting it spill into every corner of my imagination.
I would dream of faraway places and wonder,
 What would I wear there, how would it feel?
Since then, I have lived in Los Angeles, Paris, Bali and now Ojai (California.)

This may sound crazy, but one day in New York, when I was tired and frustrated with my own life choices…
I asked my late Abuelita Elia to guide my hands on the sewing machine. I started to get many design ideas and inspirations. I sourced fabrics that where going to be discarded and transformed them into my first collection of pieces.
My natural tendency and daily practice is to approach life from a place of feeling, this is how I make most of my decisions. Basically, life is like a fabric shop, where I have to walk around to feel and touch everything.
I recently heard a woman describe herself has a Sensualist and I thought “this is brilliant! this is me!”
If you are here, reading this… I suspect you are a Sensualist too.
On a constant search for the small pleasures of everyday life.

My first collection became The Voyage Collection.
My vision is for these pieces to carry you to magical, sensual destinations both real and imaginary.
Starting this fall , I am creating limited Voyage Capsules to be released every quarter, which I am very excited to share with you.

This is where my story begins.
Here I share with you travels, beauty, film inspirations and overall musings.
I’m glad you are here.

con amor,
Aniela Zalez