Journeys in Design & Storytelling: Madrid, Porto, and the Women Behind the Lens

This month, I’m reflecting on the textures, colours, and cultural layers gathered during my recent design trip through Madrid and Porto—two cities rich in craft, architecture, and soulful detail. 

Alongside this creative immersion, I’ve been captivated by several female-focused documentaries that explore resilience, artistry, and the power of women shaping their worlds. Together, these experiences form a thoughtful lens on how travel, storytelling, and lived experience continually inform the way we design for well- being, beauty, and the rhythms of everyday life.

My journey to Madrid this November centred around the Design Leadership Network’s annual summit—an immersive gathering that brings our industry together each fall in a new global city. This year, more than 300 designers, architects, builders, editors, and industry partners converged in Spain’s capital to explore its layered history, its modern spirit, and the craftsmanship that continues to shape its built environment.

The summit offers rare access: behind-the-scenes tours of storied buildings, private residences, and ateliers typically closed to the public. Yet, as meaningful as these curated experiences are, the true heart of the trip often reveals itself in the in-between moments. The unplanned conversations on a shuttle between visits, the unexpected seat partner who shares a perspective you didn’t realize you needed, the exchanges over meals that quietly deepen professional and personal connections.

As the event has grown to nearly 350 attendees, its impact has grown with it—demonstrating the strength, diversity, and shared curiosity of our design community. Madrid proved to be a vibrant backdrop for this year’s learning, reflection, and inspiration, offering a richness that continues to echo through my work.

A Night with Lorenzo Castillo

Of all the memorable moments in Madrid, one in particular continues to shimmer in my mind. Before the summit officially began, we were welcomed into the home of famed Spanish designer Lorenzo Castillo for an intimate dinner of just forty guests. It was an extraordinary privilege—and for me, an evening I will not soon forget.

Castillo’s textiles and wallpapers, distributed by Gaston y Daniela through Kravet Canada, have long fascinated me. His work is steeped in history and classicism, yet his colour palettes feel utterly modern—fresh, unexpected, and full of life. To step into his home was to see this duality brought into three dimensions.

The rooms unfold as a masterclass in maximalism: layered, collected, and completely unafraid of pattern or personality. Every corner reveals another vignette, another treasure, another dialogue between eras and influences. It is a space that rewards curiosity, inviting the eye to wander and linger, which I did!

I had the tremendous fortune of sitting beside Lorenzo for nearly an hour over dinner. To hear him speak about his inspirations, his craft, and his love of colour and antiques in such an intimate setting felt like a dream realized. The experience was not merely a dinner—it was an immersion into the mind and sensibility of one of Spain’s most distinctive design voices.

Inside the Playful and Private World 

of Marta de la Rica

Another unforgettable moment from the summit was stepping inside the home of Spanish designer Marta de la Rica. Whenever a private residence appears on the itinerary, I am the first to sign up—there is simply no substitute for experiencing how a person (especially a designer) lives, thinks, and layers a space for their own family. This visit was no exception; in fact, it was a standout.

Marta purchased a humble building on an unassuming street, just beyond the boundaries of central Madrid’s tightly regulated historic district. While that offered some creative freedom, the renovation was still far from straightforward. What followed was a seven-year journey from inception to completion—one that spanned not only the life of the project but several pivotal chapters of her own. During that time, she married and welcomed three daughters.

As Marta shared with a smile, the long timeline turned out to be a gift. Had the home been finished sooner, she said, she would have built for a completely different life. Instead, the space evolved with her—becoming a vibrant reflection of a growing family, a shifting rhythm, and a designer with an irresistible sense of play, colour, and individuality.

The home feels deeply personal and beautifully lived-in, a reminder that the most compelling interiors often emerge not from speed, but from patience, perspective, and the courage to let a space unfold alongside life itself.

Porto: A Quiet Pause and a City Wrapped in Pattern

After several full—and fully energising—days in Madrid, Porto offered a welcome exhale. This was my first visit to Portugal, and it certainly will not be my last. The summit is exhilarating, but it is also intense: long days, constant conversation, and a steady hum of activity. For someone who happily identifies as a sociable introvert, the mix of large groups and continuous noise can be taxing, even when the company is wonderful.

Dean joined me for the Madrid leg (he had his own fun time in the city while I was at the summit), and our four-day escape to Porto was exactly what we needed. The moment we arrived, the city cast its spell. What captivated me first were the vintage tiles—those extraordinary azulejos that wrap the façades of homes and storefronts in colour, geometry, and history. They quickly became both a visual delight and a personal grounding point.

Their rhythm and repetition soothed my mind, offering a quiet counterbalance to the pace of the summit. And, rather unexpectedly, they became my navigational guide. I am not known for having a strong sense of direction, but the patterns, palettes, and motifs helped me orient myself as we wound our way through the hilly streets back to our hotel.

Porto was a reminder of how design—especially design rooted in craft and tradition—can calm, centre, and gently lead us through unfamiliar places. It was the perfect interlude.

Stories of Ambition, Reinvention & Relatability: Victoria Beckham & Martha Stewart

I grew up with Victoria Beckham—at least the public version of her. Like many of my generation, her rise through the Spice Girls and her transformation into a fashion figure felt familiar. Martha Stewart, on the other hand, didn’t enter my orbit until I moved to Canada in 2002. Her highly publicised challenges followed soon after, shaping the limited understanding I had of her at the time. Beyond owning a few of her books and having some of my work featured on her website over the years, I knew remarkably little about her.

Watching both documentaries was unexpectedly fascinating, but it was Victoria’s story that captured me first.

What struck me in her documentary was the depth behind the persona. Beneath the polished veneer is someone who is disciplined, witty, and surprisingly self-aware. The narrative traces her evolution from pop icon to designer, revealing the intentional and sometimes painstaking steps she took to shift public perception. Boy has she worked HARD! Seeing her in her studio—focused, collaborative, and fully engaged in the craft—was a reminder of how much unseen labour goes into building a brand that is both respected and creatively relevant.

Her honesty about the pressures of public life, the resilience required to reinvent oneself, and the discipline with which she approaches her work offered a far more nuanced portrait than the one many of us grew up with. It felt refreshing, grounded, and in many ways, deeply relatable for anyone striving to carve out a path defined not by expectation, but by intention.

My understanding of Martha Stewart, prior to watching her documentary, was almost comically incomplete. She wasn’t part of my upbringing in the UK, and when I arrived in Canada in 2002, the first real headlines I encountered about her were tied to her very public challenges in 2004. Beyond that, my connection was limited to a few of her books on my shelves and the occasional thrill of seeing my work published on her website. I knew the brand, but not the woman.

The documentary shifted that entirely. What stood out most was Martha’s extraordinary capacity for reinvention. Her career path from model, stockbroker, caterer, media founder to global tastemaker. Each chapter seems to have emerged from a combination of sharp intuition, relentless work ethic, and a willingness to embrace opportunity before most people even saw it coming.

But what fascinated me was not just her ascent; it was the way she navigated her setbacks. There is a strength in her ability to rebuild—quietly, steadily, and on her own terms—that is both instructive and inspiring.

Her world, with its emphasis on home, craft, and the rituals of daily life, has shaped how millions of people think about domesticity. Yet the documentary reveals someone far more layered than the polished image on the cover of a magazine: a businesswoman with formidable vision, an instinctive strategist, and a person who has never stopped evolving.

In watching her story unfold, I realised how little I had truly known—and how compelling her journey of resilience, reinvention, and unapologetic creativity really is.

Creativity, Curiosity & What Shapes Us

As I look back on this past month, what stands out most is the interplay between travel, conversation, and storytelling—how each one broadens our perspective in ways both subtle and profound. Madrid offered the vibrancy of shared creative experience, from intimate dinners with design legends to private homes that reveal the lives and layers behind the work. Porto provided the quiet pause I didn’t know I needed, wrapped in colour, pattern, and the gentle rhythm of a city that invites you to slow down and simply look.

And in the quieter moments between unpacking and settling back into studio life, the stories of Victoria Beckham and Martha Stewart surprised me with their depth. Each woman has carved out a life defined by reinvention, clarity of purpose, and the willingness to keep evolving—reminders that creativity is as much about resilience as it is about vision.

November has been a month of refuelling: through architecture and craft, through conversations that linger, through travels that shift your sense of place, and through stories that encourage you to see familiar figures in new ways. All of it folds back into the work we do at the studio—design that is informed by experience, enriched by curiosity, and shaped by the belief that our environments profoundly influence how we live.

As the season turns and we look toward the close of the year, I hope you too find moments that inspire, steady, and delight you. 

Thank you for following along, 

Warmly, Gillian 

Credits, images, musings and some more contents of my head.

Trio of header images from left to right 1. Yes, I want to stay here – La Certosa in Tuscany 2. Simultaneous Dresses (Three Women, Forms, Colours) by the Ukrainian-French artist Sonia Delaunay – this piece captivated me at the Museo National Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. 3. Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain.  4.Pablo Picasso – Glass, Bouquet, Guitar & Bottle. 5 & 6 Gillian and a room in Lorenzo Castillo’s Madrid home. 7 – 9 Photos from the home of Marta de la Rica, taken by Gillian. 10 – 12. Gillian’s photos from Porto. 13 & 14 Courtesy of Netflix. 14. Yours truly doing a bit of high stakes hat shopping in Madrid. She’s a beauty and I got her home in one piece!!