I first lived in Sao Paulo for a year in 2008, when the country was on the cusp of its commodity boom and the creative scene was just stirring. I was baffled by this monster metropolis and it took me a while to get under its skin.  Writing this article on Shopping in Pinheiros almost a decade later, it was a joy to see how the city blossomed, epitomised for me by the strength of the creative community in up-and-coming Pinheiros.  Think young, eco-conscious entrepreneurs who are really forging what Brand Brazil means today beyond the politics and economics.  And that's incredible design, creativity and endless heart. 

It was amazing to look back 10 years on at the girl who had arrived totally clueless in the midst of Sao Paulo's winter (guys, it gets COLD!) with just a few bikinis and laugh at all that had happened...if only i had known then.  It was also in these few days researching and writing this piece that i found out my beloved adopted street dog and best friend Shiva, had a terrible form of cancer and I would have to put her to sleep not days later.  So this story for me was filled with such a poignancy, one of the saddest times of my life, yet equally enveloped in such kindness from the people i met and interviewed as i raced to finish up and get home to Rio to be with her.  With death so present, I marvelled at every tiny drop of beauty.  There's always a story behind the story, and for this one, it was Shiva.

Published 2017