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Dodo

Dora Rosa Robalino Vidalón was born in Peru on 10 March, 1959. "My family calls me 'Dodó' as a term of endearment," explains the designer. "I had a very happy childhood. I grew up with my parents and my older brother. During my school and university years I had the good luck of making many friends, including my husband Enrique. We both graduated with a degree in Architecture and Urbanism.

"I guess my first contacts with art were when I was a child. There was always music playing in the house, I remember my father putting his tango and samba records, whereas mom would play classical music. Of course my brother and I would dance to all of them! I studied ballet, and my interest in art grew while I was studying architecture.

"I find certain analogies between fused glass and architecture, for example the importance of the first stages in the design. Though I haven't worked fused glass for a long time, I feel like the design of the pieces, their shapes and colors have always been a part of me.

"I've always enjoyed expressing myself in a free and artistic way, and in architecture reality conditions dreams. What I like about this type of work is that it offers me greater freedom to express myself, and this sense of freedom motivates me to keep on designing. My intention is recapture the shapes and colors that are part of my cultural heritage, which is highly original.

"Ever since I was born, I have always lived in front of the Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca historical monument in the city center. I consider it my good luck talisman as well as my source of inspiration.

"I learnt about jewelry design and fused glass techniques from friends who taught me. When my 9-year-old son sees me designing, he asks 'Are you doing your art?' It is a simple question, but I always have it present with me, because I like it and it encourages me.

"I also enjoy running and have participated in several marathons.

"I am thankful to Novica for offering me the opportunity to reach people from different realities with customs that are so different to mine. I shall always feel very proud when a person chooses to wear one of my pieces. Each one is made with honesty and love. My mother had a saying that has become a family motto, "Everything that is done honestly from the heart, with love, arrives with love, and comes out right. I believe her!"