Vitali Design Studio

Hortencia Vitale was born into a large family in Laredo, Texas in 1963, and raised by her grandmother, a seamstress, who taught her at an early age that like a fine suit, life and art are comprised of separate parts fitting together with a master plan. Hortencia grew up in a family with a strong interest in the arts-- two of her brothers were also designers. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a degree in Speech Pathology. After five years as a consumer health representative, she decided to pursue her dreams with a career change to interior design. She then began attending classes again at the University of Texas at Austin. Soon afterwards she began practicing interior design. In November 1996, she was published in Metropolitan Home and shortly thereafter in Austin American-Statesman. The nationally aired TV show NPrint aired a segment on her work along with the local KLBJ radio show, The Dudley and Bob Morning Show. In 1997, she and her husband purchased a home in a central Austin neighborhood, a "near-wreck", built in 1937. Tense gutted the house, rebuilding while living in it. Her home became her studio and laboratory, where she could experiment with innovative material uses. This labor of love greatly added to her firm's hands-on approach to construction and design.