Every great design begins with an even better story.

- Lorinda Mamo

It is 1993 and I am 8 years old. I am sat in the corner of my primary school classroom with glass windows to the front and the side of me, light streaming in. I have a paintbrush in hand and a large piece of cardboard in front of me. I sit and create my first masterpiece; unknown to me but in the style of Monet’s impressionism. My parents had it professionally framed to adorn the wall of their entrance way...
Art and design is in my genes. I have an artist Aunt, a metalwork craftsman uncle and cousins, and a grandmother who had the biggest book collection on arts and crafts I have ever seen! As a child I spent hours creating through the mediums of silk and glass paint with my grandma in her home studio nestled in the English countryside. Those are some of the very best memories of my childhood…
I knew I loved design. I wasn’t good at mathematics or science. I “failed” my science GCSE (NCEA Level 1). I didn’t achieve a C to be considered a “pass”, I scraped through a C in maths. But I achieved a B in English, Art, & Textiles Technology.
As a teenager I had this lofty goal of becoming an Interior Designer. At 15 I carried out my compulsory work experience in the Interior Design Department at a local commercial architecture & design firm, designing a barn conversion for the heritage building attached to my parents’ property. Yes! I said. Interior Design is me!
I moved to college and pursued English Language, Spanish & Fine Art. I gained an A at A-Level (NCEA Level 3) in both English & Art, with flowers and the natural form being the focus of my art... Art Foundation Course here I come! Or so I thought…
I am both creative and curious by nature. Sometimes that curiosity has taken me to places some people could only ever imagine, ultimately redirecting my focus… Africa at 15 to visit a town “twinned” with mine, South America at 18 for a year to volunteer in Ecuador and Peru, Costa Rica to research gender equality and FairTrade at 21, back to the Andes at 25 to do doctorate fieldwork, and to New Zealand to live and work at 32 (I am still here).
Latin American Studies got the better of me when I chose my university degree programme over 20 years ago. “I can do Interior Design later” I said. I joined the University of Liverpool in 2004, leaving with a BA Hons, Masters & PhD in hand in 2014. I never returned to interior design...

I have spent the recent years working in higher education in the UK and government agencies here in NZ. Whilst I have continued to utilise my curiosity, research, writing, analytical and creative processes here, I woke to the realisation that I had been missing a part of ‘me’ for a reaaaally long time.
So in 2022 I decided it was time to change things up and start on a new journey! And so was born Volar Digital Marketing Solutions (Volar DMS). Whilst on this journey I have found my way back to my love of design and turning a blank canvas into something beautiful - welcome to Volar Creative Studio!
Hey look, I’m not going to tell you that I have 20 years of design or web-design experience to fall back on. That would be a lie. And if that’s what is important to you, then please press on with your search for your perfect creative design expert. But what I do believe is that you can never take away a person’s creative spirit.
To up my skillset, I have gained a digital marketing certification, I have undertaken business coaching in providing digital services and I am taking classes by the renowned graphic designer, Lindsay Marsh, to up my design chops.
Volar means to fly / to soar in Spanish, just like the beautiful hummingbird - colibrí - elevates and takes flight in targeting its next source of nectar!
When I left the comfort of my home to travel to Latin America at 18, a sword billed humming bird - colibrí - came to visit the Guanto Rojo tree outside my window every day when I lived @2,538 meters in Ecuador...
I marveled at its colours, energy & ability to suspend in the air whilst feeding, let alone its power to fly backwards!
What a magnificent creature I thought!...
I never forgot that little colibrí...
I was later surrounded by them when I lived in Costa Rica and continued to marvel at their resilience, adaptability and determination.
As a Spanish speaker, with a PhD in Latin American Studies now in my hand & embarking on a new career in digital marketing, the connection I have to my logo and brand name is authentic and meaningful...
It reminds me of my life’s journey thus far, it’s a representation of who I am, my experiences and what I can bring....
We encapsulate the essence of the colibrí targeting its nectar in the way that we work. We are:
- forward-thinking, swift in action, and adaptable in an ever-evolving digital & design landscape
- focused on the growth and progress of small businesses to reach new heights through their services and offers by implementing effective strategies in branding & website design.
- creative, imaginative and strategic in talking to specific target audiences

Explore my website portfolio here

An Interview with Myself...

Every great design begins with an even better story.

Certifications

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