The Stories Between the Tiles with Alzuleycha

Before Portuguese tile was a design trend, it was a way of telling stories. Blue-and-white panels lined train stations, church walls, and kitchen backsplashes, each one holding a little bit of history. As modern remodels have swept many of those details away, architect and interior designer Ana Sofia P. Guerreiro started rescuing them. She takes traditional motifs, colors, and textures and turns them into pieces made for modern homes.

Alzuleycha is now bringing that approach to Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley with a tile painting workshop. Guests will learn a bit about tile history, slow down, and make something by hand for someone they love. We sat down with her to talk about preserving heritage, why a handmade gift carries something a store-bought one can't, and how to start your first tile, even if you don't think of yourself as artistic.

Behind the Tiles with Alzuleycha

You’ve described Alzuleycha as a way of carrying the beauty and history of Portugal into the future. What first inspired you to transform those memories and traditions into something people can bring into their own homes? 

While practicing as an architect and interior designer, I watched traditional Portuguese architectural details slowly vanish during modern remodels. I felt the urge to preserve them by taking traditional motifs, colors, and textures from my culture and translating them into pieces that feel timeless in modern homes.

In an age of gift cards and two-day shipping, what do you think a handmade gift can say that a store-bought one can't? 

I think handmade gifts have a soul and love that you cannot find in store bought products. They are a tribute to a time when every piece was shaped by the hands of true artisans.

For someone creating a tile as a gift for a friend or family member, where would you encourage them to begin? With a memory, a color, a pattern, or something else entirely?

I would think of the essence of the person, what makes them smile and their soul vibrate with happiness and put that idea in the tile. Something like, if the person likes to cook or knit, or even a favorite pet, and put a design in the tile.

Many of your pieces connect heritage with contemporary living. How do you balance honoring centuries-old traditions while creating work that feels at home in modern spaces and modern relationships?

I take the essence of the design and transform it into a minimalistic pattern that is combined with colors or textures in a product for our modern homes.

The upcoming tile painting workshop at Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley invites guests to create something with their own hands. What do you hope participants discover through the process of slowing down and making something for a friend, family member, or loved one?

I designed this workshop to share a bit about the history of tiles and for people to slow down and reconnect with themselves. In our technology dominated world, we often forget the grounding power of working with our hands. Engaging tactile, fine motor skills naturally quiets the mind, allowing creativity and calm to take over.

For someone who loves the idea of giving handmade gifts but doesn't consider themselves artistic, what would your beginner's starter kit look like? What materials, colors, motifs, or sources of inspiration would you recommend for creating a meaningful first tile?

From my workshops and my own creative journey, I came to learn that we all have an artist inside of us, we just have to start and stick to the journey. I recommend that they start with things that make them happy, like painting a flower, family pets, or cultural iconographic designs. The color is up to them, just start and then let creativity take it from there.