(above) Natalia, with the help of her interior stylist Nathalie Naylor, transformed the kitchen completely from outdated to contemporary. Builder Pat Ilderton remodeled Natalia's home; her new countertops were provided by Universal Marble & Granite.
not? I went into business with him, we became partners, and I started the division called Key Lime Pie. What was that first Key Lime Pie collection like, and how did you know what to do in the design process? Well, Neil and I had planned a trip to Indonesia for Thanksgiving, and while I was there, I literally threw together a collection. I had done a lot of product development for Macy’s, so I knew how to put together a collection. But I knew nothing about patterns and fit. My first production was kind of a mess. All my dresses had asymmetrical
hems because I didn’t know how to make a pattern. It didn’t seem to matter; everything sold. Many of my former coworkers had left Macy’s to go work for other department stores, so I was able to call them and get my product placed immediately. I had amazing connections. That’s how I took off in this business—through the connections I had at Macy’s. I built Key Lime Pie successfully from there and ran it for five years. This line stayed in production from 1995 until the new millennium, but you didn’t begin Escapada Living until 2009. How did you spend your time in between?
When I left the Key Lime Pie line, I had a non-compete with Neil’s company for a year, so I went back to Macy’s to work with my same former boss. After eight months there, I started Paradiso on my own. How was Paradiso different from what you’re doing today with Escapada Living? Paradiso was a collection of coordinating items, whereas Escapada features more versatile pieces. For Paradiso, we sold everything in outfits—a matching jacket, top, and bottom. At the time, that’s what people wanted, and we would almost always sell at least two pieces together.
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