Hi, my name is Sara!

I am an artist, mom, and ex-fashionista who loves old houses and working with her hands. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a minor in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. I studied glass blowing, stained glass, metal sculpture, painting, and printmaking.

After university, I moved to New York where I worked in fashion, as a fit model, with Ford Models; working for clients such as Diane Von Furstenberg, DKNY, Calvin Klien, Tommy Hilfiger, and Burberry’s. I continued my artistic pursuits both on personal projects and as a decorative painter and stained glass designer for private clients in the Metropolitan area. When I retired from fashion, after my son was born in 2006, I returned to my true love…revitalizing architectural spaces with paint and power tools.

I began this website, Valencia28, to document the renovation of an apartment in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the favorite places I have lived, and one of the favorite projects I have worked on. Other than major construction, such as electrical and plumbing, all of the work on the apartment was done with my own two hands…and lots of encouragement from my son Heron.