About Me

A design studio shaped by home, observation and a steady creative practice.

Calla with dark hair in a ponytail, wearing a red floral long-sleeve top and black pants, standing outdoors near a metal and wooden chair with a railing and white building in the background. She is a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator.
Decorative floral pattern with roses and leaves in beige tones on black background.

I’m Calla, a surface designer who draws from the rhythm of daily life. Ideas often come from small observations - the light in my home, the colors growing on the balcony, shapes I notice while spending time with my son or a family dinner.

These moments form the starting point for much of my work and give my collections their tone and direction.

Calla is painting a black floral design of roses and leaves on a white paper with a small brush. A look at Calla's behind the scenes process in her home studio Brushstrokes by Calla where she makes surface pattern collections for art licensing.
Outline illustration of butterflies and flowers.

My Story

Text reading 'a bit about my journey' in cursive style.
A blank, textured, beige background.

My story begins with the women who raised me.

The work I do today is, in many ways, is a love letter to them and to the way they encouraged every creative spark that showed up in my childhood. That grounding shaped how I see the world, even long before I understood it would lead me here.

I didn’t begin my career in art.

I trained as a lawyer, worked in a structured, analytical world for years, and eventually realized that the part of my life that felt the most like me was the time I spent making things. That shift - from law to design - taught me how much clarity, discipline and long-term focus actually shape creative work.

I’ve spent the past several years building a steady practice in surface design!

Learning the craft from the ground up, refining my eye, developing collections and creating a workflow that feels intentional and sustainable. Along the way, I’ve guided and mentored other designers, sharing what I know and helping them find confidence in their own creative process.

Today I’m an artist and a mother, building a career that fits into real life.

Everything I make grows out of that balance - the structure I came from, the creativity I chose and the daily discipline that keeps it all moving forward.

Text that reads 'with love, Calla' in cursive font.
Calla with long, wavy dark hair backwards, wearing a red patterned shirt, reaches up to touch pink and white flowers on a bush in a garden. She is a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator working under the brand name Brushstrokes by Calla.
Decorative floral design with roses and leaves on a black background - designed and handprinted by brushstrokes by calla design studio by the artist and pattern designer Calla.

Why I Design?

The same values that shape my life shape my work!

I pay attention to small details, I let things evolve at a steady pace, and I try to keep room for curiosity in the middle of everyday routines. Those patterns show up in my design process too - in the calmness of the marks, the soft color choices and the way collections build themselves slowly, one idea at a time.

It’s a simple way of working, but it’s the one that feels the most like me. And it’s the thread that connects everything I make.

Calla drawing floral designs with a pencil in a sketchbook on a crocheted surface. A look at Calla's behind the scenes process in her home studio Brushstrokes by Calla where she makes surface pattern collections for art licensing.

To explore my work and finished collections, visit my library here.

See Licensing Portfolio

If you have something specific in mind, you’re welcome to get in touch.

Get in Touch