Inês Castel-Branco

Inês Castel-Branco was born in Lisbon and lived for many years in a small city in the interior of Portugal that shares her name: Castelo Branco. She loved to play the piano. She also spent many vacations drawing in a notepad, discovering her own distinct methods of painting, and learning to take photos with her father’s antique Canon. At 18 years old, she went to study architecture in Oporto (also in Portugal). Later, curiosity led her to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain. It was only supposed to be for a year, but she liked the city so much that she stayed another year to do a master’s degree, then a doctorate, and wound up doing a thesis on the theatre of the ’60s. During all of this, she decided to found Fragmenta Editorial with Ignasi Moreta, and so submerged herself in the fascinating world of the typography and layout of books. With the birth of their three children, Inês returned to making models (now of castles, zoos, doll houses…), and they discovered the marvels that can be made with recycled objects (which are explained on Inês’s blog, “Mamá recicla”). Their love of children’s books also grew, until they decided to start this collection. One morning, during breakfast, she “saw” in her mind the book that you now have in your hands, and she once again took up her brushes and painted.