The Heart of the Project
PieLilli isn’t just a name; it’s a tribute. It might sound like a playful name, but it holds a much deeper meaning to me. It is a combination of the nicknames of my two senior dogs, two wonderful, “crazy” Australian Shepherds who have been by my side for over a decade. They are the heartbeat of my home, and every day they teach me the most important values in life and the precious meaning of time. I want this website to be a space where I can share my expertise and my passions, and I hope that you can join me in this journey, be it for professional reasons or just because you love the same things I do.
Below, I’d like to share a bit more about my path and how I arrived here.
A Journey Across Studying and Creativity
You know how you’re supposed to go from A to B in a straight line, but you end up taking a tangled mess of twists and turns before the destination is even in sight? That is the perfect description of my journey as a student and a professional. It wasn’t a straight path, but it’s the one that finally brought me here. For over twenty years, I felt like I was wandering. What I didn’t know was that I wasn’t lost; I was collecting tools to build something I didn’t yet know was waiting for me—something entirely mine.
It has been a chaotic path, yes, but guided by a few constants.
Languages. If I could, I would learn them all! It started with my first love, English, and since then I’ve added Spanish, Chinese, but also a pinch of Russian and German…and who knows what might come next!
I earned my first BA in Languages and Literatures almost twenty years ago, but I didn’t stop there. After a wonderful year living in a tiny flat in Bayswater, London, I went on to earn a BA degree in Legal Sciences and, more recently, a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Studies on Languages and Literatures. In the meantime, I worked as a freelance translator gaining experience in a vast array of fields and adapting as the world changed—from the early days of translating simple emails to the rise of AI.
Handicrafts. As a child, I didn’t dream of being a doctor or a pilot. Only once I shared with my mother my dream: becoming a seamstress and a fashion designer. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to anything involving yarns, fabrics, and textures: sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, and weaving. For a long time, I left this passion hidden in a secret locker, labelled as something belonging to the past or to another life, to another person. But everything resurfaced with all its strength and found its way into my everyday life.
I feel like I’ve always lived at the intersection of these worlds, until I realized I didn’t have to choose. I can be the translator who spends hours on a document, a researcher fascinated by the history and culture behind a button, and I can also be the aspiring weaver watching her creativity come to life. Here, I can connect the dots.
You will find more details about my services and creative work in the Work With Me page.
The Button
Many of you might be wondering: so why buttons? These tiny objects are so often overlooked, yet they are incredible works of art. A single button can transform an entire outfit, and behind it lies a story of heritage and culture. How could I not be completely captured by them?
The button is also the perfect metaphor for my work: a small, functional object that holds everything together, carrying immense historical, cultural, aesthetic, and material weight. It is the “nucleus” where my love for handicrafts, languages, and research meets.
In a world increasingly shaped by AI content, I’m here with all my “human imperfections”, sharing everything I’ve learned with you: the academic knowledge, the manual skills, and the constant desire to learn and improve.
Whether you are here to explore the fascinating world of buttons, to investigate a textile archive, or just to say hello, you are welcome.
I told you it was a long time coming – but I’ve finally found my way home.
PieLilli 