Carla Santiago is an award-winning industrial designer and ceramics specialist. Her expertise is built into her heritage from when she first learned her trade at her father’s tile and ceramics factory in the heart of Portugal. 

Santiago graduated from Istituto Europeu di Design in Madrid, and had professional training at specialist industry centers CENCAL and CEARTE where she gained a deeper knowledge of industrial ceramics processes, particularly in shaping, molding, and decorating.

Previous experience includes assisting Marre Moerel, producing molds for some of the Dutch designer’s best-known pieces. Carla Santiago is also the first prize winner of the Kickoff Novos Designers- Continente 2008 competition with the tableware set DONDO, her first marketed product produced and distributed by Sonae Distribuição. 

Recently she has been focused on painting and drawing to develop a more artistic approach to her practice, such as the use of the handbuild ceramic process and the sgraffito in underglaze techniques.