Cheers to 4 years of Unwind Studio!

Hi friends!

Another year has passed and we can't believe that Unwind Studio is turning 4 years old already!

It’s been an amazing ride and we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to let you in on our thoughts and feelings on this special day. Join us as we take a trip down memory lane and reflect on how lucky we are to be part of such a wonderful project and surrounded by this lovely and supportive community that means so much to us <3

Let's rewind the clock…

4 years ago Unwind Studio was a little corner on Cristina’s (our founder) house, taking the first steps as a small business and slowly creating a community of modern stitchers.

The project is born from the old passion of a little 9-year-old Cristina, who learned the craft at school and never went back. She spent her childhood stitching and this became her favorite hobby, up until she went to college. By then, she had fallen out of love with needlepoint due to the lack of modern designs in the market, but the spark was clearly still there.

After having her first baby girl and prioritizing her mental health over work, she picked up an unfinished canvas and realized that her love for stitching was still alive, so the idea was born…to create a business combining two of her biggest passions: art & illustration and needlepoint. 

We’ve come a long way!

Unwind Studio as a small business was launched on February 3rd, 2020 on Etsy, followed by our own online store a month later!

Since then, we’ve had so many moments and accomplishments that make us proud and motivate us to never give up on this project. So we invite you to take a look at them and celebrate with us:

Our 1st studio

We moved into our first real studio in September 2020, based in our city - Porto, Portugal. The business was slowly growing and we finally had our own space to create even more designs, as well as ship our first big wholesale orders!

The Drew Barrymore Show

Three years have passed since Drew Barrymore showcased our products on her show, and we still can't believe it!

It's such an honor to have her as a customer and we couldn't ask for a better review. We absolutely love her!

Our feature on "drew's doggy bag" section of the show

MoMa Design Store - Museum of Modern Art

...and crazy amazing things kept happening to us in 2021! Our first ever wholesale order came from MoMa Design Store (pinch us please!!)

What an amazing start to our net of stockists, this is definitely one of the things we're most proud of and still to this day are grateful for.

Take Your Pleasure Seriously

Later in 2021, we adopted our motto "Take Your Pleasure Seriously" (by Charles Eames) and launched a re-branding, focusing on the idea of taking time to do the things you love and prioritizing what really makes you happy.

Nowadays, this motto receives a lot of love from our customers and is one of the most praised things about our brand! People love it because they relate to it and feel motivated to make crafting a priority - it is a fun activity, but it also helps with mental health and well-being. 

Shoppe Object New York 2022

In 2022, we had our first experience at a Trade Show - we packed our kits and finished canvases and flew to New York City to debut at Shoppe Object - and what a fun experience it was!

We networked, met new people, amazing businesses, and overall had a wonderful first trip to New York. Can't wait to go back again!

Our Pink Studio

Later that year, we moved to our current space: our lovely Pink Studio! 

This place will always have a special place in our hearts since it has seen most of our team arrive, it has been the background for dozens of photos and videos, has stored all of our new products, and helped prepare hundreds of orders. 

Here we had so many great ideas, conversations, laughs, learning experiences and even encounters with customers visiting our city, Porto!

Unwind Studio Team

What started as a One Woman Show with Cristina is now a full team of inspiring women!

In 2023, the team grew with the arrival of our Communications Coordinator Cátia, she helps keep our social channels alive and thriving, while also lending a hand in designing new kits. We also welcomed Helena in the same year, as a Studio Ops Assistant, to help with preparing the kits and sewing all our canvases!

The next year, in 2024, we welcomed the other members of the Operations team: Filipa, the Manager, and Xana, Studio Ops Assistant, to manage all studio tasks, prepare and ship our orders, as well as manage customer service.

Last but not least, Leonor also became part of the team in 2024 as an intern, she is now responsible for all things media: photography and video, working closely with Cátia in the marketing team - but as a multi-talented girl, she also helps Operations when needed.

New Website

2023 was a year of growth and change for our small business, so it made sense for us to invest in a new website that would satisfy our customers even more.

We worked hard to meet the expectations of our supporters, changing our online shop with the feedback we gathered in mind. It was a challenge at times, but we can now say we are proud of the final product, especially when it comes to the learning materials - something we know our customers value so much and that helps them with their needlepoint journey!

Maison & Objet Paris 2023

This was another amazing opportunity, to exhibit our business in Maison et Objet, one of the biggest and best-known interior design fairs in Europe!

We had lots of fun on this trip to Paris and came back so inspired to keep on innovating and creating new products!

Museum Connections Paris 2024

This year started off the best way - another work trip to Paris!!

This time for the Museum Connections tradeshow, where once more we were able to share our passion for this craft and meet lovely people, as well as discover new business opportunities. Also, it's always a pleasure to go back to this beautiful city!

Celebrating art from all over the world!

 As we said in the beginning, Unwind Studio was created from one of Cristina's biggest passions: art & illustration. She always loved to surround herself with beautiful works of art and search for new artists to feel inspired, so it would only make sense to include these artists she admired in her project.

Nowadays, we work with illustrators, designers, and other types of artists from all over the world! With each purchase, our customers are directly supporting their work and making a meaningful contribution to the world of creativity.

Our Unwind Artists are a very important part of this business and we can't thank them enough to embark on this adventure with us. We're really lucky to connect with such talented and creative people!

Last but certainly not least…YOU!

We left the most important thing for last: our customers, our supporters, our lovely community. They're the reason we can keep doing what we love, and for that, we're forever grateful!

Unwind Studio started as a dream and Today it is a reality for so many people. We appreciate every purchase, every comment, every feedback, and every AMAZING share of your projects! It's lovely to open our folders and have a wonderful collection of photos of our designs stitched by you. Knowing that there is a little bit of Unwind Studio spread all over the world and that we have the power to bring happiness to so many people is something we can't describe.

Thank you so much for making this dream come true - you're also part of this! Happy Birthday to us!!

What’s next for US?

We're moving again!!

Thankfully, both the business as well as the team has grown enough that we have to move into a bigger space! Soon, Unwind Studio will have a new home as well as new team members :)

We have plans to work on new collections and products, as well as lots of learning content this year! 

We're so excited for what 2024 has in store for us and we invite you to come along on this journey with us - subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram & Tiktok to know everything we're up to!

Thank you for being here <3

Happy Stitching!!

The Unwind Studio Team