Hello, I’m Juliana
I’m an artist exploring how sensory engagement can deepen emotional connection and nurture holistic wellbeing. Through crafted objects, food rituals and mindful movement, I invite presence, play and embodied self-discovery.

A sensory practice rooted in awareness
With over a decade of human-centred design experience, my practice draws from behavioural science and sensorial research, including gastrophysics and the gut–brain connection, alongside embodied traditions such as yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

I was shaped early on by life between the vibrant culinary capitals of Kuala Lumpur and London, in my family-run restaurants. Food was more than nourishment: it became a way of life, a language of care, creativity and connection.

I was always observing - how people moved, connected and interacted through gestures, objects and spaces. These moments taught me that design is something deeply human — sensory, symbolic and emotional.

Now based in San Francisco, I carry with me a deep attunement to the tender details that stir feeling: the scent in the air, the weight of a vessel in your hand, the ritual of sharing something made with intention.

Silence as a teacher
In 2021, my senses fell silent. I lost my ability to smell and taste for two years.

During that time, my body began to break down in invisible ways. I felt out of rhythm with myself and the world. That silence asked me to listen more deeply.

It also revealed an old truth: I’ve always had a complex relationship with my senses. As a supertaster and highly sensitive person, I experience the world through intense smells, textures, sounds and flavours — often overwhelming but illuminating. This sensitivity became my gift: a way of noticing the subtle, feeling emotion vividly and finding beauty in the small.

That same year, I left the corporate world — after more than a decade designing experiences and shaping strategy across startups, global brands and purpose-driven organisations — to begin anew.

Listening through the body
In search of healing, I returned to my body and other senses: finding refuge in clay, a material once unfamiliar; in yoga, a practice I had resisted; and Traditional Chinese Medicine, a lineage quietly suppressed under the pressure to fit in.

In 2022, I began my MA Design at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London — reclaiming an intuitive, tactile and embodied way of creating. Working with my hands brought me back to presence, energetic flow and the quiet joy of making. Slowly, I began to reweave my body, mind and spirit.

In 2025, I completed my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in San Francisco. Since then, I’ve been sharing practices in meditation, restorative movement and micro-retreats that invite stillness, softness and inner dialogue.

A way of living
Guided by the belief that nourishment lies not only in what we consume, but in how we feel, move, create and connect, my practice cultivates habits and mindsets that support wellbeing and vitality through every season of life.

What began as healing has become a way of living: a ritual of awareness, self-care and creative expression — blending stillness and motion, intuition and form for sensory restoration, slow transformation and storytelling.

Inspired by ancestral wisdom, movement and a lifelong reverence for food as medicine, my work invites a return to balance. It soothes the senses and attunes us to the rhythms of nature and to what lives Within — a cyclical practice of disconnecting from the noise, softening inward to rest, then opening outward once more with clarity and joy.

The power of presence and play
I believe nature lives within and all around us — a mirror of our connection with Mother Earth. Clay and natural materials, like the body, remember. They respond. They hold.

Guided by the spirit of shoshin (the beginner’s mind) and the joy of keeping our inner child alive, I see creativity as a space where innocence meets curiosity — a place to explore, reconnect and meet the world with fresh eyes.

This ethos lives in works like Why not? — a playful provocation to release hesitation, question the expected and stay open to what unfolds.

An open space for exchange
I invite you to embrace your individuality and find joy in the rhythm of change.

Each experience and artwork is shaped by this philosophy: a return to presence, a celebration of becoming and a reminder that play is essential in the journey toward your authentic self.

Thank you for being here. If something resonates, let’s connect and create something meaningful — shaped by your story and made with care.

Let’s continue the conversation

Path to practice

200 hour YTT, Folk Yoga San Francisco
July 8th 2025 - August 3rd 2025

MA Design (Ceramics), Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
September 2022 - June 2024

Over a decade shaping digital and human-centred experiences, leading design and strategy across startups, global brands, and purpose-driven organisations
2010 - 2021

BA Industrial Design and Technology with Professional Practice, Brunel University
September 2011 - July 2015

Features

Exhibitions & Showcases

Soil, Toil & Table at Lethaby Gallery
December 2024 - January 2025

Feast County Hall Pottery Gallery
November 2024 - January 2025

London Design Festival
September 2024

Parallax Kensington Art Fair
July 2024

Central Saint Martins Shows
June 2024

Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition
November 2023 - January 2024

Petr Weigl Open Studio
November 2023

Cafe Phillies
May - October 2023

Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition
November 2022 - January 2023

Studio Pottery London
June 2022

What you’ve been saying

  • “Within, Sensual Eating just delighted me. Obviously, there’s something erotic about these forms, which undercuts the seriousness of the Western canon and Western modes of eating. There is so much etiquette around the formality of the setup, how much you must separate yourself from the food through cutlery as a distancing tool, to keep things ‘civilised’. There is a long, psychosexually complex history to this. The tactility of Within, Sensual Eating is gorgeous. It's fun to probe, to dig in, to swipe and look. This project says something about how repressed and anxiety ridden we are most of the time. Brilliant.” 

    Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer 

  • “Juliana worked closely with us to understand the brief on our commission for art work to sit on the mantlepieces within a freshly renovated building which houses our new state of the art Rapid Diagnostic Centre in Harley Street. She understood the rich heritage of the building, including the links to King George VI’s speech therapy which was undertaken in one of the centre’s rooms in the 1930s. She was able to draw on this in her work and use these influences to create pieces that perfectly complemented and enhanced the interior design of the spaces. These thoughtful and unique pieces will be appreciated by patients and visitors for years to come.”

    The London Clinic

  • “I absolutely adore my bowl. Juliana totally understood what I was looking for and created a stunning piece which far exceeded my expectations. It looks amazing in the space it was designed for. I’m so impressed I’ve already bought more pieces for myself and gifts for friends and family.”

    Helen

  • “We were looking for a few pieces to decorate our shelves and didn’t want to shop with generic high street retailers. Juliana exceeded our expectations and we love our custom-made vase, bowl, and plate set. They are very unique and beautiful.”

    Dan

  • “My wife opened the gift today and LOVED it. She has already turned it into a home for her everyday jewellery. It looks like it's always been there!”

    Nic

  • "Absolutely thrilled with these beautiful pieces! They fit perfectly in my hand, so ergonomic! Originally bought them as gifts, but now I'm tempted to keep them all for myself!"

    Lili

  • "I'm so pleased with my purchase! I got a Blue Flower from the Flowers collection for my wife as a Christmas present, and she couldn't stop talking about how pretty it is. It's truly beautiful!"

    Nate

Join my journey @julianalua_

I think I fell back in love with Paris. Recently, I had a rare opportunity to reunite with a friend in Paris. The last time I was there, I was a teenager. This time, I returned as an adult, as an artist, with only a day and a half to wander. I wa
Caliscape, a bespoke creation made for a biotech venture firm’s new San Francisco office inspired by West Coast dynamic landscapes. 🏞️ From my hands to your soul www.julianalua.com If you seek a piece sculpted with your story, and made just
Another close up of Caliscape, a one-of-a-kind creation made for a biotech venture firm’s new San Francisco office inspired by West Coast dynamic landscapes. 🏞️ Explore my creations www.julianalua.com Interested in a bespoke commission or a
Another close up of Caliscape, a one-of-a-kind creation made for a biotech venture firm’s new San Francisco office inspired by West Coast dynamic landscapes. 🏞️ Explore my creations www.julianalua.com Interested in a bespoke commission or a