We were lucky to catch up with Francisnelli Santos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Francisnelli thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Right now, I am going through grief and the loss of my biggest supporter, my husband Brian.

Brian passed away unexpectedly in January while visiting his parents and my life has become a rollercoaster of anger, sadness, grief, emptiness and loneliness.

He was the only one that understood me and without him, I would not be an embroidery artist as I am today.

This year has already thrown at me an immense pain and I am not sure if I will ever overcome this loss. He was my only family and my best friend and losing him is like losing life in itself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a self taught embroidery artist. I embroider custom animal portraits, tiny animal earrings and necklaces and 3D insects.

I have worked for over 30 years in the costume making industry so obviously I love sewing especially hand sewing so when I started embroidering I realised that I could combine embroidery with my other passion, animals, and create fond memories for animal lovers.

My Pretty Babi is dedicated to all animal that have touched my life, to animal lovers and their beloved companions.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Creativity and the ability to work in amazing projects that bring so much joy to others

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started my small business in 2010 but it took a long time to find out what I really want to make out of it.
My late husband was the one that supported me no matter what and pushed me to don’t give up.
Now that he is gone, I don’t know what the future will bring and this year is already a bigger challenge then any other challenge i had to go through with my business.
Que sera, sera…

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.myprettybabi.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/myprettybabi_embrodiery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyPrettyBabi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisnellibailonidossantos/