Portuguese Flair, with Canadian Care
About
me
Patricia Santos is a Portuguese Canadian, she was born and raised in Leamington Ontario, Canada. She is the oldest of four kids. She has always wanted to be a fashion designer since she was a little girl. She and her close friend, and sister would make bridesmaids dresses with her mom’s extra curtain fabrics. She sketched outfits, all the time at restaurants or in class. She had a vision, when it was time to go to college after high school, she was excited to go for fashion. She planned to go to a college in Toronto, and then University in France. However, a family member thought she wouldn’t be able to make it as a fashion designer and pushed her in another career path that she also loved.
Patricia ended up going to George Brown College in Toronto in 2010-2011 for Culinary Arts, Chef Training. Where she thrived, she received the “Extra Mile Scholarship” and was on the “Dean’s List”. After graduation she moved back home with her parents and worked as an assistant chef at the Leamington Portuguese Club for 11 months and then sadly the head chef was diagnosed with cancer and passed. Patricia had to step up the plate and become head chef for the next 6 months while she was pregnant with her 1st child. After her 1st born was born, she decided to grow her family and become a stay-at-home mom. Until her kids started school, she then went back to work in another kitchen for a couple of years.
During Covid-19 after her grandmother on her father side passed, she thought life was too short, and wanted to pursue her dreams once again. She then went back to school at “St. Clair College” in Windsor, Ont. For “Fashion Technician”, during the first year she stepped out of her bubble and went wild with shapes. During her second year she became inspired by her own Portuguese culture and started designing clothing that reflected her personality and that tells a story like “Azulejos” Portuguese blue tiles.
