Designs to Spice Up Your WorldDebra Valencia, a visionary artist, designer and entrepreneur with a passion for world travel, artisan traditions and popular genres, has branded a modern style uniquely her own. The Debra Valencia™ brand take a fresh approach to creatively blending florals, paisleys, geometric and decorative motifs in a distinctive sense of style. Her signature look is artistic, lively, vibrant, colorful, vivid and imaginative. She is inspired by craftsman of cultures from all over the world, including textile arts and architectural ornamentation, as well as pop art, fashion and everything vintage. Like a talented chef whose fusion of unexpected ingredients turns an ordinary dish into an extravaganza,
The BrandDebra Valencia surface designs are a creative blend of geometric and organic patterns mixed and matched in interesting color combinations, all with a distinctive sense of style. At its core, it stands for timeless style that transcends culture, language or age. The brand reflects a fresh and imaginative approach to the creation of contemporary classic patterns that are chic and sassy, yet fun and lively. Mixing stripes with florals or colorful images on plaid, each collection distinctively captures the essence and personality of the brand. Debra mixes and matches elements to create rich designs spiced with style and color.
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On a Personal Note
Like her artful creations, Debra Valencia, the artist, has timeless style. Born in Washington, D.C. of Euro-Asian ancestry, Filipino father and Irish mother, Debra’s artistic talent has been passed down from generations. Her paternal grandmother, Socorro Valencia, was a fine artist as well as her father, sister and several cousins. From the early age of five, she remembers dreaming of becoming an artist. With fantasies of far away exotic places, she would draw pictures of herself in a hula skirt dancing on a tropical island or as a mermaid swimming in the ocean. A star artist throughout grade school, Debra continued her artistic path in art college, pursuing graphic design as her major, with interests in fine art, printmaking, fashion, interior, furniture design and architecture.
Debra lives in Los Angeles, California. She has one son who is a budding illustrator and fine art painter. Adamant about preserving her multi-cultural heritage, Debra maintains family trees and photo archives for both paternal and maternal families. She created a cookbook of her Filipino grandmother’s original recipes to pass on to the next generation. Debra is a frequent host who loves to cook and entertain. She finds solace in her yoga classes, walks along the beach, hikes through the Santa Monica mountains. For excitement, she is a regular in the live music scene around LA, swing dancing to music from the 1920s to 1950s.
Debra lives in Los Angeles, California. She has one son who is a budding illustrator and fine art painter. Adamant about preserving her multi-cultural heritage, Debra maintains family trees and photo archives for both paternal and maternal families. She created a cookbook of her Filipino grandmother’s original recipes to pass on to the next generation. Debra is a frequent host who loves to cook and entertain. She finds solace in her yoga classes, walks along the beach, hikes through the Santa Monica mountains. For excitement, she is a regular in the live music scene around LA, swing dancing to music from the 1920s to 1950s.
Professional Recognition
Debra’s expertise includes creating distinctive branding, packaging and product design for globally recognized companies in a variety of industries. Gift, Home, and Stationery: Esprit Bed & Bath, Karen Klein Candles & Spa; Toy: Hasbro, Playskool, Milton Bradley, Swingset Press, Herrington Teddy Bears, and CowParade; Entertainment and Hospitality: Disney, Hard Rock Cafés & Hotels International, The Cheesecake Factory, MGM Grand Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Luxe Hotels Worldwide, Costume Designers Guild and Leonardo DiCaprio; Publishing: Book design for artists including Mark Ryden and Liz McGrath, museums, galleries and a variety of travel, business, children and trade book publishers.
Debra founded greeting card company, Vida Valencia, in 2006. The company features a line of pop-up cards specifically designed to hold gift cards. The Vida Valencia catalog with over 130 items is currently licensed to Jillson & Roberts. Products received accolades in the press for ingenuity and design innovation including Greetings Etc. January 2007 feature story and cover as the Top Trends of 2007 as well as Best of Show at National Stationery Show 2007.
Debra's design work has been featured in publications including Time, Interiors, HOW, Print, ID, Communication Arts, Identity, Abitare, Process Architecture, Greetings Etc., Gift & Decorative Accessories, Giftware News, and the definitive book, Women in Design 1900–2000. She has received numerous awards from the AIGA, STA and other professional design organizations.
Debra is a published author with her first title Sewing Pretty Bags: Boutique Designs to Stitch & Love, launched May 1, 2015 for Fox Chapel Publishing. The title is the first in a series of books for the DIY sewing and craft market. She is also author/artist of four coloring books published November 1, 2015. For more information, visit the publishing page of this site.
Debra founded greeting card company, Vida Valencia, in 2006. The company features a line of pop-up cards specifically designed to hold gift cards. The Vida Valencia catalog with over 130 items is currently licensed to Jillson & Roberts. Products received accolades in the press for ingenuity and design innovation including Greetings Etc. January 2007 feature story and cover as the Top Trends of 2007 as well as Best of Show at National Stationery Show 2007.
Debra's design work has been featured in publications including Time, Interiors, HOW, Print, ID, Communication Arts, Identity, Abitare, Process Architecture, Greetings Etc., Gift & Decorative Accessories, Giftware News, and the definitive book, Women in Design 1900–2000. She has received numerous awards from the AIGA, STA and other professional design organizations.
Debra is a published author with her first title Sewing Pretty Bags: Boutique Designs to Stitch & Love, launched May 1, 2015 for Fox Chapel Publishing. The title is the first in a series of books for the DIY sewing and craft market. She is also author/artist of four coloring books published November 1, 2015. For more information, visit the publishing page of this site.
Dedication to the Arts
A believer in giving back to the arts and thankful for being blessed with her creative talents, Debra donates her time and art services to many organizations. She served on the Board of Directors for five years for Collage Dance Theatre, a site-specific dance company that brings performing arts to the streets of LA. She has designed many of the posters, invitations, website and fundraising promotions from the beginning of her career to present day.
Debra supported SEE-LA, Sustainable Economic Enterprises of LA, an organization that supports local farming by bringing fresh produce to seven Farmer’s Markets around LA and teaches healthful nutrition and cooking to elementary school children. She designed the logo, signage, menus, marketing materials and interior for The Farmer’s Kitchen, a permanent facility adjacent to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market promoting local farming and nutritional education.
An avid architectural fan, Debra has designed numerous architectural tour guides for the Los Angeles Conservancy, the largest membership-based local historic preservation organization in the country, dedicated to the recognition, preservation, and revitalization of the architectural and cultural heritage of greater Los Angeles.
Debra supported SEE-LA, Sustainable Economic Enterprises of LA, an organization that supports local farming by bringing fresh produce to seven Farmer’s Markets around LA and teaches healthful nutrition and cooking to elementary school children. She designed the logo, signage, menus, marketing materials and interior for The Farmer’s Kitchen, a permanent facility adjacent to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market promoting local farming and nutritional education.
An avid architectural fan, Debra has designed numerous architectural tour guides for the Los Angeles Conservancy, the largest membership-based local historic preservation organization in the country, dedicated to the recognition, preservation, and revitalization of the architectural and cultural heritage of greater Los Angeles.
Arts Educator
She has served as a part-time faculty member at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles for over 12 years. Courses she has taught in the past include Basic Design Fundamentals, Typography, Production Technologies and Professional Practice for Graphic Designers. Debra Valencia is currently teaching private seminars on the Business of Art Licensing and is an occasional guest lecturer at colleges and design conferences. In Spring 2013, Debra launched a new 10-week Business of Art Licensing course at Otis College of Art + Design in Los Angeles as part of the Continuing Education program and is repeating the same course every Spring semester. She is also teaching Digital Surface Design at Art Center College of Design at Night Program in Pasadena every Spring semester.
Debra has selected, supervised, trained and mentored over 50 student interns from Otis College of Art & Design, California State University/Long Beach, Rhode Island School of Design, University of the Arts/Philadelphia, Santa Monica College, University of California/Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design and California Institute of the Arts. The students gained real world work experience and were better prepared to enter professional positions.
Well respected as a design educator, Debra has been invited to portfolio reviews for AIGA/LA, Otis Intern Program and National Portfolio Day. Debra has lectured at major institutions and conferences including Cal Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo, Harvard University, Fresh Dialogue program sponsored by the AIGA New York, Western Regional Conference of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) and Art Director’s Clubs of both Los Angeles and Washington, DC. She has served as a judge in numerous national design competitions for the same organizations.
Debra has selected, supervised, trained and mentored over 50 student interns from Otis College of Art & Design, California State University/Long Beach, Rhode Island School of Design, University of the Arts/Philadelphia, Santa Monica College, University of California/Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design and California Institute of the Arts. The students gained real world work experience and were better prepared to enter professional positions.
Well respected as a design educator, Debra has been invited to portfolio reviews for AIGA/LA, Otis Intern Program and National Portfolio Day. Debra has lectured at major institutions and conferences including Cal Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo, Harvard University, Fresh Dialogue program sponsored by the AIGA New York, Western Regional Conference of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) and Art Director’s Clubs of both Los Angeles and Washington, DC. She has served as a judge in numerous national design competitions for the same organizations.