about darling

for melissa a. camarillo, a.k.a. darling dearie,* artistic and creative pursuits literally run throughout her family tree. her italian-american maternal great-grandfather was a prolific inventor including the forerunner of the vcr, a special rolling pin for making ravioli called the “rav-o-lor” (which he held a patent for), and the ball point pen. meanwhile, ms. dearie’s father was a gifted writer, storyteller, painter and pianist, and her equally creative and artistic mother continues to excel in the pastry arts, interior and garden design and remains an accomplished and impressive seamstress.

ms. dearie’s love affair with sewing began earnestly in grade school as she fashioned clothes for her 11” fashion dolls and furnishings for an elaborate dollhouse. with each passing year she dreamed of becoming a fashion designer as she designed and sewed clothes for herself and created unique clothing gifts for others. through the subsequent decades that followed, her personally-designed and sewn wardrobe and her distinct style of dressing, invariably garnered attention and compliments from colleagues and strangers alike.

spring of 2015 she seized the opportunity to finally pursue what she loved full-time: designing, sewing and assembling vintage & discontinued fabrics in artful combinations (“mash-ups” and “oddments”, as she calls them).

summer of 2020 the dearie family relocated from portland to fountain hills, happily integrating themselves into their new community. fearless kitty welcomed the family as regular volunteers and they in turn welcomed adopted two rescue cats. volunteering with fashion club at fountain hills middle school in 2021 offered an introduction to the arizona make-it-with-wool competition, winning darling dearie placements during the two years she participated.

seven years as a digitally native brand offered the opportunity to locally trial a darling dearie pop up shop fall 2022 at the presby pickins flea market. under her distinctive pretty pink tent, darling dearie’s pop up shop has participated in the cave creek 2023 winter festival, the fountain hills art league 2024 “tour d’ artistes” annual event, and the fountain hills chamber “fountain hills day” event in 2023 and 2024. the darling dearie pop up shop remained a popular stop for lovers of one-of-a-kind handmade items at the presby pickins flea market during their winter 2025-2026 season.

besides textile artistry, melissa has enjoyed exploring other artistic mediums including acrylic paint, mixed-media, collage, and making petite sculptural figurines for jewelry and canvas. when it comes to her home interiors and exterior, she is her own designer and general contractor, happiest with a gallon of latex paint and a shortie paint brush in her hand.

as she celebrates a decade of business, darling dearie is looking forward to 2026 being a renewed focus creating a varied selection of unique, one-of-a-kind wearable art garments for those who appreciate making a statement with their sartorial choices.

when not creating, she and mr. dearie enjoy cocktails on the patio as they admire the vast array of sonoran desert wildlife all whilst listening to their extensive and ever growing vinyl record collection.

apropos of nothing, darling dearie won an award in 2022 from lux magazine.

*darling dearie is both a designer and an alter ego for the actual designer, melissa a. camarillo.

melissa a. camarillo is the designer, artist, creator and fabricator of all things relating to the eponymous brand.

you may learn more about the origin and evolution of this moniker, her hypothetical twin, by clicking here.