" When I was a little girl, I was very close with my grandmother. She was the first of her family to immigrate from a small town in Italy to Toronto, and she shared so many Italian traditions with me including a very special type of Italian bread sculptures. Practicing these traditions in Canada gave her the strength she needed to build a new life here.  In learning these creative traditions from my family, I began to understand my own cultural identity. These experiences with my Italian culture fueled an exciting journey towards art, sculpture & design. My grandmother gave me this passion for craftsmanship and art that still brings my work to life today. She would tell me, "you can make whatever your heart desires because the women in our family have 'mani d’oro' (hands of gold)."