pedrita In 2009 I graduated in graphic design back in my town. I used to make designs for pizza joints, brands, real estate companies, construction companies and so on. I’ve also did a lot of printed materials and decoration magazines, because that’s the type of market from where I’m from. When I finished college, I thought that I would stay in my hometown forever working with those things and that would be it for me. I was only 20 back then right?

 Then I decided to go after an English course in London. I planned everything and went to live and study there for 10 months. Since it was a mourning course, from 9am until 12am, I took the opportunity to also take other courses like communication in design and illustration, and in portrait photography. Back then I only shot with an analog camera because it was accessible, the role of film was £1 and to get it developed was another £1. I took pictures of how my life was like over there, my friends, the landscapes, the fun, of everything. Then one day my friend Robson who’s a photographer told me “A friend of mine needs someone to take some pictures and make a making-of video for a music video, go out there and do it”, so I did and loved it.

pedrita I was doing both. Lookbooks are something I do with a lot of passion, even though I only do a few of them nowadays. But I happily produce them for the clients who have been with me since the beginning. Like with Tex Cotton from Blumenau, every year, twice a year, I go there and spend about 10 days shooting for them. I do the lookbook, with lots of looks per day and I do it all with a smile on my face. Same with Colcci, they get whatever they want from me, I always try to help in any way I can, and I do this with great pride.

I’m completely conscious about the fact that everything I’m living today was only possible thanks to these clients who continuously invested in my work. It’s an investment – when you hire a professional, you’re not only purchasing their skill. You agree with this person, with their values, with their lifestyle, with everything. So, when a client calls me, I want to deliver the best material within what they need, and within what I like too. They have many good options in the market to choose from and if they came to me, I must do my best.

pedrita I’m a photographer, I know about lighting, and I’m also a graphic designer – I use my background for my work. I always have in mind that there’s a delivery to be made and that the client has a product to sell. I understand there are many people making decisions in the same company – there’s marketing, there’s the sales department, there are open-minded people who want to change things around, there are some traditional people, who want things to remain the same – and I’m looking for the midfield, because I’m going to create the image of what they want to sell, and I want it to sell.

 It’s a whole process. To get to the final product that I’m shooting, the client has to travel, has to do research, has to buy pilot pieces, get it modeled, has to research fabric, couture, thread, prints… There is a lot of hard work, sweat and energy that goes into that piece I’m shooting, so all that must be valued. I don’t mind if what the client has in his head does not match my personal work, what I want them to see is that their product is being valued, that the unit of my work has attitude as well as aesthetics. I don’t always use the same lighting, or colometry. I want to gather all the pieces from the puzzle, all expectations and deliver the best work I can.

pedrita I want to be more of an artist, but my vision of an artist is not that of being alone in the studio while drinking and going crazy… To me, the artist is kind of a scientist, you know. Trying different things, shooting the same object from many different angles, with different props and lights and making interventions. It’s about always believing in an idea, in a portrait, and doing a lot of research. That’s my idea of an artist.

During the pandemic I felt stuck, with a huge creative block. I couldn’t do anything because I was too stressed out to create something. This pandemic was a great shock, I think we were expecting a lot from 2020. Twenty twenty sounds like a good year, right? And whether you like it or not, jobs from 2019 were on a roll, then this whole thing happened, and I spent 5 months without taking a single picture. I was not used to not working, and I was also too confused to learn how to make bread (laughs). In the end I took some time for myself. We watched the entire “Naruto” and “Shippuden” series, and we also watched “The Godfather” many times, as well as other classic mafia movies (laughs).

It made me rethink many things because I was on autopilot, just constantly working on delivering material. I was about to start remodelling the studio and had to stop because of the pandemic. Over this period, I found new meaning to many things, such as how to manage my time, how to better invest and how the Flyz space would be like. I used to think I would be an entrepreneur and that the studio would be a company. But thanks to the pandemic my ideas now are aimed at creativity, research and collaborations with other artists. I want it to be something small, to make more collabs and to work on long term projects.

Pedrita Oh, I’m loving it because this is the first photo shoot I’m doing in the studio! Flyz is a hybrid, multi versatile space in the center of São Paulo. The front part is an empty space which can be used as a practical and efficient small studio, and my office is in the back. Besides renting it for photoshoots and castings, I intend to create workshops for female photographer groups, and to use the space to put on exhibitions for other artists too. I would like to call someone to come and work here as if it were a residency, something like: “let’s work together this month and by the end we’ll come up with an exhibition”, or to also work with a brand.

 Take Suí for example. I’m passionate about Camila’s brand and we are planning to work together on a collection, produce the campaign and organize a weekend pop-up store here in the studio. So basically, that’s it, I want to mix all those things together. There’s also Mad Killa Crew’s practices taking place here every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights and as soon as things get better with the pandemic, we’ll organize once a month a “Flyz and Mad Killa Invites” event, where we’ll call other Crews to train together.

 In the meantime, I want to shoot many pictures and work on personal projects, take a week or two to make portraits of people around here. Literally stop people in the street and ask “hey, can I take a picture of you? Come here!”. I have a lot of expectations for my studio. For now, I’m only organizing things while the pandemic is still going on, but perhaps in 2022 I’ll have a 10-year reopening of Flyz. I have many ideas for my studio, but I want to take my time, without too much rush or anxiety, as it was before.

 Now I see that I don’t need to wait for a client, or anyone to make a project happen, you know? I can do it slowly at my own pace. I think I delivered everything I wanted. I’ve already done so much, travelled a lot, conquered this space, so now I’m in another phase of collaborating.

PedritaA sneaker I really liked was Qix, which just had a 20-year rerelease. During a Mad Killas training session, Donna came here, and I looked at her sneakers and said: “Oh wow! I had those a long time ago”. I was embarrassed to tell her that I had them like 20 years ago, I skated when I was 13 years old and now I’m 33. She’s 19. She wasn’t even born when I had these sneakers. Then she said: “Yeah, last year they relaunched as a celebration for its 20-year anniversary”. So, I was like “oh wow! This sneaker is 20 years old” (laughs). Mine was orange and hers were black. Besides Qix, when I was 13, I also had that chubby Mary Jane one which was very cool. It was around the Drop Dead era; I had a T-shirt I wore until there was nothing left to wear.

Then at the age of 16 I started to work and got to college – As I was one year ahead, I got into college early –, and stopped skateboarding. However, because I was working, I managed to buy a pair of Etnies, which actually even looked like this Jordan. Etnies was my first expensive sneaker, it cost half of my salary.

I also remember I really wanted to have that boot styled black Reebok with the velcros, you know? I remember I really liked them but never got to have them. I think I’d buy one today for sure.

pedritaThis is my first Air Jordan. I’m influenced by Branco. Whenever there’s like an amazing sneaker launch, he tells me “you must get them, you have to!” and I tell him “take it easy, I can’t!”, I can’t handle (laughs). I got this one this year – I saw it, liked it and managed to buy it. Which is also something tricky right? You have to get lucky if you want to buy them (laughs). As I said before, I love them because they remind me of the Etnies I had, as well as being very comfortable and look nice.

I like the heel, it’s beautiful and nicely structured. It also goes with a lot things, like right now I’m wearing social pants with them, and it looks dope; if I put on cargo pants, it also looks cool; if I put on a skirt, it stands out. This is like a statement sneaker.

pedritaI also use my all-black Nike Air Force a lot, I’ve even had four of the same. From 2012 to 2017 I wore only black. My whole closet was black, and I only used the black Air Force, it literally was the only sneakers I had. But that was something that came up from working with fashion, I’d think: “my God, they will find out I’m not fashionable enough”. I kind of had that impostor syndrome, you know. I’d dress myself in an all-black outfit, with black sneakers, hair tied up, always looking the same, pretty basic and with a jacket on so I would go unnoticed… it’s a crazy market. But from 2018 till now I started to add more colours to my outfits and then came the white Air Force. I didn’t have any white sneakers until I got a beautiful white AF for Christmas and got used to it.

Nowadays I dress in a basic and comfortable way that makes me feel good, but I don’t do crazy combinations. I also had those Rihanna Pumas with the tall midsole, it was the first one I used after the Air Force, it was completely black as well and I wore it until there was nothing left. Another one I have is the Air Force Shadow.

pedritaLook, sneakers are a temptation. I like to get one and wear them until the very end. But whenever we go to the mall, we look at the stores and daydream about sneakers. It’s a nice feeling you know, to choose a pair and get some socks to match. Sneakers are an addition and part of your personality.

I like to be ready for everything: in case I need to run away, to climb up the roof, or to skate – I can do it all in sneakers. If I’m at the studio but want to buy fabric for a background, I can quickly go to Santa Ifigênia, and afterwards I’ll run down to Vinte e Cinco to buy some electrical stuff and come back to the studio. Sneakers keep up with me very well in all these scenarios.

I’m only noticing now how lazy I was… I mean, four black Air Forces? I could have chosen other models, but I bought the same one (laughs).