amazing alessandra!

We couldn't be more thrilled that Alessandra, creator of the Gypsy Girls Guide and beautiful photography site alessandracave.com, will be teaching at our inaugural event! All she thought she needed was a camera and a backpack, until her round the world travels revealed a fierce love for texture, light and design, as old as the stories she once called home. One and a half careers later, she's finally traded in her passport for photo studios and locations where her eye for sun-drenched color and vintage beauty takes commercial photography to a whole new world. Whether she's shooting starlets or musing on her beloved moon, Alessandra is serious about living life to the fullest and inspiring others to do the same. We love that she will be in Boulder to share her wealth of photography knowledge & inspire you in ways you never knew possible.

It was so much fun reading her answers to our questions so come get to know the amazing Alessandra below!

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If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

Oh I love this question, because I have always been fascinated with the circus, and I have always secretly wished to take trapeze and aerial ribbon classes. It's on my life's list for sure!

If you could start your own restaurant, what would it be?

If I could start a restaurant, it would most definitely have a vegetarian inspired menu, adhering to a seasonal calendar and using ingredients from either the restaurant's garden or from local organic farmers. The place would also have a amazing wines, "green" bohemian design featuring recycled products throughout the spaces, an outdoor dining area, and Brazilian bossa nova as the ambient music choice! One can dream, no?

Favorite thing to eat for breakfast.

I subscribe to the typical french petit dejeuner which is also the most common way to have breakfast in my home country (Brazil): a croissant with butter and jam, some fruit and the perfect cappucino!

Your true indulgence.

I have several, but here are just a few of my favorite ways to treat myself:

*dark chocolate always handy ~ i have some every single day!

*polaroid film ~ i'm a new mom and it just so happens that my sx70 camera fits perfectly in the diaper bag ! So what can I do? :P Must indulge on some pola film even though the prices are ridiculous right now.

*massages ~ i try to have swedish massages as often as possible

*long dates with myself ~ window shopping, shooting pictures, a delicious healthy meal, ice cream or cupcake, laying out in the sunshine at the park, watching the sunset on the beach, etc.

Hidden talents.

I have a very very strong intuition ~ to the point I can predict the future sometimes!

Favorite actor or actress.

There are so many! But right now the one that comes to mind is Kate Winslet. I have a major girl crush on her! She is not only a fabulous actress, but also strikes me as an intelligent, kind and beautiful woman inside and out.

What color shoes are you wearing right now?

I am only wearing cozy socks at the moment.

If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?

I generally don't like the word advice because it sounds too pretentious and because ultimately, we each need to find our own way...  But if I could share with you something that works for me, it would be my life's {manifesto}. I keep all these intentions close by, so I can remind myself of what nurtures my soul and my well-being.

And if I could share something with the world it would be:

We are better together. When we are together, there is no war, no separation. There is mutual understanding. Together we can join forces towards ending poverty and hunger. Together we can create bigger, better and more beautiful things. If we are together it means there is kindness, compassion and love between us, and as a friend once told me: "love always always wins."

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?

Family, friends and kindred spirits. Gatherings like weddings, birthdays, holidays, art events and creative retreats, make me very happy. The energy that is created by the people I love or the people that love the same things I do, lingers with me for a long while after our moment together has passed, leaving me replenished and inspired. {I'm so looking forward to our time together at the Makerie!}

What do you value most in other people?

Pure heart, pure intention.

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

I attempt new things every single day and I believe there is no such thing as failure. Everything that we do or attempt to do leads to another chapter in our journey. We create our lives out of the little tiny steps we take towards our dreams. Sometimes our dreams change or morph into unimaginable new dreams, sometimes we are the ones who change, but we simply cannot fail! We just can't. Not even if we try...

What is the best advice you've ever given and received?

When it comes to advice, make sure you also listen to your own gut. Only you can say what is really best for you.

Do you like to sing in the shower?

Nope. But these days I sing to my baby daughter practically all day long!

A wish not fulfilled.

Oh I prefer to look at it as wishes yet to be fulfilled! I have many and the list just keeps on growing... Here are a few wishes: travel to Morocco, live in Brooklyn (NY), own a sailboat, shoot an Anthropologie catalogue, have my own photographer's studio, etc etc etc.

If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be?

Life is Beautiful ~