Born in Cascais, Ana Baleia graduated in Fashion Design and after a period living in Cape Verde, she chose Alentejo to live and work. Her interest in materials and textures, in manual techniques – sewing, tearing, staining, aging – led her to explore textiles in a more experimental way, which influenced her work as a costume designer , entering the field of visual arts, installation, sculpture, always with fabrics as the main raw material.
She is the author of several handmade products, produced in a conscious way, often establishes partnerships with other brands. She is co-founder of Ateneu do Catorze, artistic and cultural space where she has her studio, in an old grocery store, now full of fabrics, buttons, threads, scissors and also rusty pieces, paints, papers, plants and other precious items that can be useful in her work.