The colourful world of Artist Carla Uriarte

We recently visited the incredibly beautiful Carla Uriarte, Artist, Mother and one half of Cafe Freda's in her colourful Sydney Studio.

Carla's warm and vibrant energy radiates onto the page, her works an explosion of colour and joy.

Get to know Carla below!

 

 

 

Have you got a nickname?

My husband calls me pootie.

 

How would your friends describe you?

An interesting combination of fun, motherly and free like an energy ball.

 

Star sign?

Cancer.

 

Where do you currently live and who with?

NOBO AKA North Bondi w/ me husband Dave and our baby Paz.

 

Have you been there most of your life?

No, I was born in the Philippines, grew up in SanFrancisco and spent my formative years becoming a lady in Spain before taking the big leap to Australia.

 

What do you currently do for work?

I am an artist and business owner - my husband and I have a bar/eatery called Cafe Freda’s.

 

 

What do you get up to when you’re not at work?

Asides from making art I like to spend time lounging around with my family. Hitting the beach, going to the markets, hosting long lunches for friends.

 

 

 

 

 

How would you describe your style?

Comfortable but cool.

 

 

 

 

We adore your art, you are so clever!
What sparked your interest in art? Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve always leaned into art and my creativity which I learned from my mother.

I constantly received positive feedback from what I would create which gave me the confidence to believe in myself and keep sharing. Making art however has never been a choice but more of a necessity -- a way of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have such an amazing space / studio – how did you go about styling it?

It's really organic. I find a lot of joy in rearranging, cleaning, organising and decorating a space -- I just keep doing it until I'm satisfied and if I need to clear my head I kind of just start moving things around which then creates this constant evolution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What helps you when you’re lacking in creative inspiration?

Walks and books and socialising and writing and music and silence and nature.

 


  

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us a little bit about Cafe Freda’s?

Cafe Freda’s is the daughter of Freda’s - a club that my husband owned for 10 years. I spent 3 years working side by side with him on it - I ran its basement gallery ‘Down Under’ and helped do DJ/band bookings and made all the flyers and visual things, projections for parties etc. When the pandemic hit in 2020 its ten year lease came to an end and instead of renewing it we decided to open a business that made more sense for where we were at in life, 4am nights were very tiring. We felt the need to create something that was missing in Sydney -- a casual European style bar that had elements of Freda’s but felt more mature. We have Djs on the weekend, very delicious food, an amazing wine and drinks list and the giant outdoor area with all its glory. We also host many community driven events, kitchen pop ups, Sunday parties with local DJ groups and wine producer takeovers.

 

What do you love about being a mum?

EVERYTHING! Truthfully there is nothing that I do not love about it. All the hard moments and beautiful ones are jumbled in one giant ball called LOVE!