My name is Ilaria: l’ila.

I was born in Italy, and today my life moves between the Netherlands and France, where I am exploring a more nature-rooted life in the countryside.

Creating things with my hands has always been part of who I am. When I was a child, I used to paint little stones and ring my neighbours’ doorbells to sell them. Even then, there was already a small maker inside me, curious about colours, shapes, and the joy of transforming simple materials into something meaningful.

For many years, however, I followed a different path. I became an engineer and spent a long time working in demanding, high-performance environments. It was an intense and rewarding journey, but somewhere along the way my creative side started asking for attention again.

What began as a desire to reconnect with making, slowly grew into a different way of seeing work, creativity, and value. I found myself drawn to what I now call intentional creation: a practice that honours process as much as outcome, and presence as much as productivity.

Macramé is my main creative language, an ancient craftmanship that has crossed borders and generations, moving between cultures, evolving while preserving its essence. I am fascinated by the richness of this craft, from traditional macramé lace techniques, to the vibrant, soul-connected free spirit of colourful boho macramé.

For me, to work intentionally is to remain connected to the human scale of making. The hand leaves traces. Small irregularities remain visible. Time remains visible.

There is also an ethical dimension to intentional creation. Slowness creates space for reflection. It invites us to reconsider the emotional weight that objects can carry outside the logic of acceleration and disposability.

At its heart, my work is an invitation to conscious presence and through this story, I hope to share a little of that feeling with you.