Melissa A. Camarillo, a.k.a.
Darling Dearie,* hails from a long line of creators and
artists including her great-grandfather (an Italian-American
patent holding inventor), to her parents who studied,
practiced and encouraged the fine arts. so it’s not a big
surprise that a love affair with sewing and designing began in
grade school.
The subsequent decades that followed, her handcrafted wardrobe
and distinct style of dressing, invariably garnered attention
and compliments from colleagues and strangers alike.
In spring of 2015 she found herself at a career crossroads and
seized the opportunity to finally pursue what she loved
full-time: designing, sewing and assembling vintage &
discontinued fabrics in artful combinations (“mash-ups” and
“oddments”, as she calls them) while remaining true to her
sustainable, slow-fashioned vision and aesthetic.
Summer of 2020 the dearie family relocated from Portland
to Fountain Hills, happily integrating themselves into their
new community and volunteer opportunities.
After seven years as a digitally native brand , Darling Dearie
ventured as trial pop up shop late fall 2022. this led her to
joining the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce early 2023 and
fortuitously, to the Fountain Hills Art League early that
summer. she’s since joined the league board as their
communications coordinator and Darling Dearie, under her
distinctive pink pop up shop tent, looks forward to
participating in the leagues upcoming 2024 Tour d’
Artistes annual event.
Besides textile artistry, Melissa has enjoyed exploring other
artistic mediums including acrylic paint, mixed-media,
collage, and making petite sculptural figurines for jewelry
and canvas. When not creating, she and Mr. Dearie enjoy
raising their family, watching the desert wildlife, and
listening to their extensive vinyl record collection under the
ever revolving disco ball within their colorful and
eclectically decorated home.
*darling dearie is both her business name and her hypothetical
twin. more about the origin of this moniker can be read under
her bio on her official website, which also includes the
availability and pricing of many of these featured items and
more.
www.darlingdearie.com.
