Meet the Artist

Susana Grau Batlle (pronounced “Badlia”) is a US-based Barcelonan designer whose work is inspired by over 20 years of delivering development and humanitarian aid in some of the world’s most challenging, yet culturally, artistically and visually rich locales.

Born and raised on Barcelona’s creative verve, Susana did preparatory studies for visual arts before opting for an international humanitarian career. Today, her often avant garde style draws on insights from her own lived experience of expression, transition and personal growth.

Over the last two decades, Susana has navigated surreal transitions from the reality of conflict and fragility in places like Afghanistan, Congo and the Sahel, to a peacetime existence elsewhere. Throughout, her creative instinct has been a compass for resilience, anchoring her faith in humanity and capacity for growth.

Often deployed to deliver aid in hostile settings, sketching designs became a reprieve from the more aggressive and highly charged atmosphere of operational life: “my creative part kicked in because it was trying to counterbalance what was around me”, Susana explains.

Immersed in countries located on the ancient silk road, trans-Saharan trade routes, and the colorful vibrancy of the tropics, Susana’s artistic instincts were kindled. Designing clothes and jewelry for herself – and later, select private commissions – she found inspiration in ancient cultures, philosophies and aesthetics that have transcended the events of the day.

In 2021, Susana released her debut one-of-kind jewelry collection, Mother of Mothers. A tribute to the feminine force of creation, this collection marked the launch of Susana Grau Batlle – a brand embracing holistic forms of aesthetic expression and beauty.

A recipient of a William Goldberg Scholarship, Susana earned a diploma of the Gemological Institute of America.