Michelle Armstrong

Born to an Afro-Brazilian mother and American father in Rio de Janeiro, Michelle developed an appreciation for the intersection of craftsmanship and culture while watching her grandfather restore colonial-era wooden buildings. After moving to the US to study architectural woodworking, she established herself as a specialty carpenter focusing on historical restoration projects, which frequently takes her to international sites. Her travel blog began as technical documentation of different building styles but evolved to include the cultural stories, tea traditions, and mythological elements that give meaning to the spaces she works on.