We recently had the chance to connect with Carlota Manrique and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Carlota, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Right now, my days are a mix of creativity, entrepreneurship, and the deep emotional and physical changes that come with pregnancy. No two days are exactly the same, but they all revolve around balancing my role as a designer, business owner, and future mom.
I usually start my mornings with a slow, intentional routine. I practice prenatal yoga and breathing exercises to connect with myself and with my baby—it’s my way of grounding before stepping into the day. Some mornings I jump into creative work, developing 3D renders, designing layouts for custom furniture, or following up with clients. Other days, I give myself permission to rest or simply let ideas flow without pressure.
In the afternoons, I divide my time between overseeing projects in our workshop, coordinating with my husband—since we work together—and working on creative content for The Harmony Piece. Even though I’m not producing fiber art at the same pace as before, my creativity remains strong—just expressed in a more reflective and visual way.
Lately, I’ve been focused on refining how we present our ideas—creating mood boards, renders, and presentations that help bring our interior design concepts to life. I spend a lot of time on SketchUp and Canva, translating ideas into tangible visual language.
Pregnancy has shifted everything—my pace, my energy, even how I approach productivity. I’m learning to listen more, to slow down, and to honor where I am in this moment. A normal day for me now is less about doing more and more about being fully present, intentional, and connected—to my work, to my creativity, and to this new life growing inside me.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Carlota Manrique—a Venezuelan-born designer, creative entrepreneur, and founder of The Harmony Piece. I’m also the co-founder of Deer GS LLC, a company focused on Custom Interiors that I run alongside my husband. We design and build tailored kitchens, closets, and furniture with an emphasis on intention, warmth, and functionality.
I wear many hats, but everything I do is rooted in one belief: our spaces—and the objects in them—should reflect who we are and support how we live. That’s the heart of The Harmony Piece, which began as a fiber art brand and has grown into a creative expression of design, wellness, and lifestyle. I create custom fiber art installations, develop visual concepts through 3D renders, and share inspiration through YouTube tutorials and my podcast Que Hay en Mi Cabeza, where I talk about entrepreneurship, creativity, and everyday life.
Right now, I’m in a very particular stage of my life: I’m pregnant with my first baby while running two businesses, working with clients, designing for real homes, and growing a creative vision that is evolving with me. This experience has changed everything—my pace, my energy, and how I approach creativity. I’ve embraced a slower, more intentional process that feels deeply personal and emotionally connected.
We’re currently preparing for a big transition: moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. This change comes from both personal decisions and the exciting opportunity to expand and evolve our projects in a new environment. We’re excited to bring our vision of custom interiors and soulful design to a fresh community, and continue building meaningful connections through our work.
My dream is for The Harmony Piece to become more than a design brand—it’s a lifestyle concept. I envision our workshop as a creative hub where we host art shows, offer workshops, and support other artists through pop-up stores.
What makes our work unique is not just what we create, but how we connect—with our clients, with the spaces we design, and with the emotional side of life. I want everything we do to make people feel inspired, grounded, and truly at home.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?”
A moment that truly reshaped how I see the world was finding out I was pregnant while running and trying to grow my business. It wasn’t just a personal milestone—it was a spiritual shift. For the first time in a long time, I had to pause and ask myself: what kind of life am I building, and what kind of world do I want to bring my child into?
Pregnancy has taught me to redefine strength. Before, I measured it by how much I could do in a day, how fast I could move, how many hats I could wear. Now, I’m learning that strength can look like softness, intuition, and trusting a slower pace.
This season of my life has brought a deeper sense of purpose to everything I do. It made me rethink how I work, how I design, and how I want to grow—not just professionally, but personally and as a future mother. I’ve become more intentional with my time, more connected to my body, and more open to receiving help and support.
It’s not always easy—being an entrepreneur while going through physical and emotional transformation has its challenges—but it has shown me that creation doesn’t only happen on the outside. Sometimes, the most meaningful transformations happen quietly, within us.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Not creative enough. Not productive enough. Not consistent enough. Not strong enough to keep going. Not “ready” enough to take the next step. That fear has worn many costumes over the years, sometimes disguised as perfectionism, other times as self-doubt or exhaustion. And truthfully, it’s still something I meet face to face from time to time.
As a creative entrepreneur, I’ve often felt like I had to prove myself — not just through the quality of my work, but through my ability to hold everything together: the ideas, the projects, the relationships, the finances, the home. Add to that the experience of being pregnant while running a business with my partner, and suddenly the stakes felt even higher. I found myself wondering: can I really do all this? Am I allowed to grow and slow down at the same time?
But recently, that fear has also become my teacher. Preparing for a new chapter — moving to Charlotte, starting fresh, dreaming big again — has reminded me that beginnings don’t come with guarantees, but they do come with opportunity. I’m not aiming to be perfect anymore. I’m aiming to be present, to stay aligned with my values, and to trust that I am enough, just as I am, even while everything around me is changing.
This fear no longer defines me — it shapes me, softens me, and reminds me to lead from a place of authenticity, not expectation.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. The public version of me is not only the real me—it’s the most honest version of myself I’ve ever dared to share. But being that transparent has come with a cost. There have been many times when I’ve walked away from social media and the online part of my work—not because I didn’t believe in it, but because showing up as I am, especially during vulnerable seasons, felt overwhelming.
As a creative, entrepreneur, and now a mother-to-be, I’ve never felt like I fit into a perfect mold. I’ve never wanted to. What I do and create—whether it’s designing interiors, building furniture with my husband, or talking to my audience through my podcast—is an extension of my life, my values, my story. My brand, The Harmony Piece, and our business, Deer GS LLC, are not just projects; they are personal. Every wall hanging, every kitchen we design, every closet we install, carries a piece of us.
I used to think that vulnerability made me look unprofessional or weak. Now I know it’s what connects me to others the most. That’s why I’ve shifted my focus: I’m no longer creating content to be viral—I’m creating to be real. And when I do show up online, it’s to share what’s actually happening in my world, from the joy of building something from scratch to the challenges of running a business as a couple, facing financial uncertainty, or preparing for a new life chapter as we move to Charlotte, NC.
There’s nothing polished or filtered about this season of life. But I’ve learned that there’s strength in allowing people to see the mess, the growth, and the beauty of becoming—because that’s where community is born.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say I lived with purpose, not perfection. That I dared to create a life that felt true to who I was, even when it didn’t look like anyone else’s. That I turned vulnerability into strength, and that I built things — spaces, pieces, conversations — that helped others feel seen, inspired, and safe to be themselves.
I hope they say I wasn’t afraid to start over. That I made room for transformation, whether it came through art, motherhood, or reinvention. That I was brave enough to keep showing up, even when things felt uncertain. And that through every move, every creation, and every challenge, I always led with heart.
I want to be remembered as someone who reminded others that beauty can be honest, that homes carry stories, and that handmade doesn’t mean small — it means intentional, powerful, and rooted. I hope my legacy is not just in the things I built, but in the way I lived: connected, curious, and willing to believe that softness and strength can exist in the same breath.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theharmonypiece.etsy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theharmonypiece
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlotamanrique
- Twitter: https://theharmonypiece.etsy.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharmonypiece
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/mcarlotam
Email: [email protected]
