The Why

Founded in 2021, Studio Mariposa is more than a botanical design company—it is a living meditation on transformation. My Filipino and Trinidadian heritage, informs my desire to honor where I come from while creating something that feels both intimate and expansive.

“Mariposa,” the Spanish word for butterfly, felt inevitable. A butterfly is a clear symbol of transformation. Flowers reflect that same process—moving through cycles of growth, change, and death. Their language has endured for centuries—love, grief, devotion, celebration—yet the way we speak through them continues to evolve. Today, contemporary artists reinterpret that language endlessly: the looseness of cottage style, the romance of an English garden, the bold nostalgia of 80’s tropical, the lush perfection of Dutch floral paintings. Each approach is a dialect in a timeless conversation.

My own voice draws from all of it—and beyond. I look to nature first, but also to color theory, chiaroscuro lighting, and the symbolism of vanitas. I am inspired by tension: wildness and restraint, shadow and light, abundance and negative space. Every arrangement is an attempt to hold those contrasts in balance.

Through Studio Mariposa, I’ve had the privilege of working with plant life grown both locally and abroad. There is a deep affection in my work for the unusual—the untamed stem, the unexpected curve, the flower that feels almost otherworldly. And yet, I am just as devoted to the familiar legends of our fields: Sunflowers, Narcissus, even Dahlias from Mexico and cultivated here in the Northeast. That reverence is sustained by an extraordinary network of growers and vendors across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. It deepens further at Ceiba Valley Farm, the farm I co-founded, where I continue learning—season by season—how to grow cut flowers with patience and deep care. Cultivating flowers has transformed my relationship to them. They are no longer just materials, but an integral part of the process itself. Each harvest feels personal.

At its heart, Studio Mariposa exists to tell stories of metamorphosis. Every design is an offering—crafted for joy and to honor the beauty of becoming. My hope is that when someone encounters our work, they don’t just see flowers. They feel a shift. A reminder that transformation, like nature, is both inevitable and sacred.