The House

I started when I was 8 years old. Without knowing it.
My mother was a designer. I would sit beside her and watch her work for hours. How she thought before she drew. How she presented her ideas. How she made decisions. Without realizing it, that was my first school.
I couldn't put a name to it until much later. But even then I knew that this was what I was going to dedicate myself to.


24 years later, I'm still here.
With pauses, of course. Life has its own script.
I left Brazil nine years ago and landed in Spain with no network, no contacts, no job in my field. To support myself, I did what I knew besides design: wait tables. I spent eight years working in restaurants, beach bars, and cafes along the coast.
It wasn't wasted time. It was another learning experience.


What I learned behind the bar.
I learned how to look at a food menu when you're hungry, when you're in a hurry, when it's a first date.
I learned what a customer asks when something doesn't convince them but they don't dare to say it.
I learned how to charge a table of 20 people without losing your smile.
I learned that during peak lunch hours, a confusing menu costs real money.
And I learned, almost by accident, that a restaurant's accounts are a silent conversation between the cost of making each dish and its worth. (Once, at one of those places, I calculated the cost breakdown for the menu to help the manager. I wasn't paid for it. But I understood something that changed how I design today.)


And I went back to what I was doing.
I returned to design full-time two years ago. But I brought with me what I learned in the classroom.
That's why Bartor Estudio isn't just about pretty designs for the hospitality industry. It's about thoughtful design from someone who's been on the other side of the bar. Someone who knows that a menu isn't just decoration: it's a sales tool. Someone who knows that a logo won't save a business, but it will position it where it deserves to be.


I work alone, but I am not alone.
In these nine years in Spain, I've built a network of great people: food photographers, printers who understand the details, architects, consultants. When a project requires it, I bring in whoever is needed. I coordinate, I answer questions, I close deals.
You always talk to me.


Three languages, one conversation.
I speak Spanish, Portuguese, and English. It's not an extra service or a promotional claim. I'm from Brazil, I lived in Manchester for six months, and I've been in Alicante for almost a decade. We can speak in whichever language you're most comfortable with.


If you've made it this far
It's because something I'm saying resonates with you. That's something.
If you'd like to chat about your place, I'd be delighted.





Cindy · Bartor Studio · The missing asterisk ✱