Here at Slowdown Studio we love collaborating with emerging and established artists from across the globe. We recently had the opportunity to chat with Carolina Restrepo, the artist behind the new Parc Floral Art Print. Carolina explores colour, composition, and storytelling using cut paper and paper leftovers, creating tactile pieces that feel playful, intuitive, and full of movement.
1. Who do you think is the most exciting emerging creative in your city?
One of the most exciting emerging creatives for me right now is Mili from Si.cerámica, an Argentinian ceramic artist based in Barcelona.
I really connect with the honesty in the way she shares her process and story. Her work feels organic, tactile, simple, and elegant, and there’s a beautiful rawness to the way she communicates her world.
2. Where are your favourite places to go in your city?
I’m definitely a park person. I love any place where I can walk, slow down, and maybe have a picnic.
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors — Glòries Park (which I like to think of as my backyard), and long walks by the beach. Being able to see the horizon always grounds me.
I also love discovering new neighbourhoods, especially places where I can sit with my bullet journal and draw. Poblenou has been a recent favourite for that.
3. What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when you were starting out in art?
I would tell myself to take care of my relationship with my creative practice and to protect it.
Life gets terribly boring if you don’t express yourself, be silly, stay curious, follow your own rhythm, and remember there ain’t no rush. I’d also remind myself to take a chill pill whenever I get too much in my head, and to laugh at my own work a little more — hindsight is usually quite hilarious, I reckon — and that comparison is only useful at the bakery, when you’re trying to pick the biggest croissant of the bunch.
4. What are you listening to in your studio at the moment?
I have a playlist called Into My Feelings that I’ve been building for years. It’s full of songs that feel nostalgic and slightly melancholic, but in a comforting way.
It’s mostly indie folk and singer-songwriter music — artists like Gregory Alan Isakov, Angelo De Augustine, The Honorary Title, SYML, and Les Sœurs Boulay.
I tend to listen to the same songs on repeat while I work. Add candles and incense and it becomes a full mood. And if I really want to commit to the atmosphere, maybe a glass of wine too — a creative shouldn’t be thirsty.
Parc Floral Art Print by Carolina Restrepo
5. What inspired your design for this latest print design?
This piece was deeply inspired by a trip I took to Paris. I had just left my job as a senior graphic designer and decided to take some time to reconnect with my creativity.
I spent about two weeks there, visiting museums I had always dreamed of — seeing works by Matisse, Van Gogh, and Monet — but also just walking a lot, spending time in parks, eating pastries and observing everyday life.
The piece itself was inspired by the dahlias at Parc Floral, and the trip ended up shaping a larger body of work called Ma Vie Rayée.
When I came back, I felt very excited to keep exploring through paper — almost like translating brushstrokes into cut paper. I wanted to capture the movement, colours, and feeling of those gardens in a tactile and playful way.
6. What's your favorite way to slow down?
My favourite way to slow down is to disconnect — no phone — and listen to what my mind and body need that day.
Sometimes that looks like movement — walking, swimming, rollerblading, or dancing — especially when I need to shake things off and clear my head. Other times it’s slower, more repetitive manual processes like embroidery or drawing in my bullet journal. Honestly, cleaning and organising does it for me too if my mind feels busy.
I’ve realised the way I slow down changes a lot with the seasons too, and I’ve learned to enjoy moving between different ways of slowing down depending on what I need.
7. What's the most memorable book you've read in the last few years?
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
8. What has been the happiest/most rewarding moment of your art career?
One of the most rewarding moments in my creative journey has been realising that creating and sharing don’t always have to happen at the same pace.
In a time where everything moves very fast online, I’ve learned to respect my own rhythm a lot more — sometimes that means sharing work later, taking breaks from social media, or simply making things just for myself.
Ironically, that shift is also what eventually gave me the confidence to start sharing my work more openly again, which makes collaborations like this one feel especially meaningful.
I also feel very grateful that this paper journey has led me to collaborate with studios and brands I genuinely admire — from working with Adrian & Gidi some years ago, to creating a Latino paper campaign for PepsiCo USA, and now collaborating with Slowdown Studio. Manifesting many more paper adventures ahead.
9. How does living in your city influence your work? Is there anything about your city that has defined how or what you create?
Barcelona is a very visual city — no matter where you are, there’s always something to observe.
I’ve been here for a couple of years and I honestly feel like I haven’t even scratched its surface yet. It really invites you to be outside, walk slowly, and pay attention to details — colours, shapes, typography, textures. I think that in itself is incredibly stimulating and inspiring.
Lately it has influenced the way I draw. I’ve started taking my bullet journal with me and using it almost like a visual diary to document small everyday moments around the city.
Also, the city dogs deserve an honorary mention. There are so many big personalities around Barcelona that I’ve accidentally become a bit of a secret dog paparazzi.
Parc Floral Art Print by Carolina Restrepo
10. What are you most excited/looking forward to this year?
I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with my paper-based work and continuing to work with paper leftovers and letting the process guide me again.
I’m also very excited for summer — picnics, breakies & sunsets by the beach, cervecitas with friends, outdoor cinema, warm full moons, maybe some salsa dancing… all my favourite things usually end up finding their way back into my work somehow.
And while we’re manifesting things… a Hermès window display would be quite nice too.
Instagram: @atelierlampuki
