SH: How did you come up with the name?
Segreto is named after my husband’s family. His father changed the name to Sinclair when my husband was young. Because it means “secret” in Italian, I felt it was perfect for my new creative endeavor.
SH: Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I find inspiration from every person I meet and every home I see. I catch myself relishing nature and seeing how light reflects on all the beautiful things that God has created. I love the tiles, fabrics, and surfaces of today. Because they are ever changing, they challenge me to constantly come up with new ideas.
SH: What were the early instances in which you found yourself engaged by great design?
I have always loved design and painting. As a child, when most girls played with dolls, I built homes for them. I painted the walls and built and finished furnishings. From cardboard boxes to old wooden spools of thread, to stick and mortar homes, they all became little mansions in my eyes.
SH: Did you have an inspirational teacher?
Years ago I was awarded a contract for faux finishing a substantial home. They wanted the home to appear as if two old Tuscan farmhouses were joined together.
The cabinetry and furnishings were more contemporary in style, but they wanted the shell or structure to be more authentic to the era.
I didn’t feel that a faux finish would accomplish this. I had a vision of what a natural plaster could bring to a home: subtlety, warmth, and refinement. I soon met an old school plasterer. He was one of the few left in Houston whose team installed the conventional lathe and plaster method, used centuries before. This is what the home needed!
At retirement age, he graciously shared his knowledge and was fascinated by my take on pigmenting the product and applying it directly over sheetrock, creating a finish which did not need to be painted over.
It was through this collaboration that Segreto really took off and the trend of bringing old school plaster back in a current, affordable way was started. I call him “my little angel.” He is someone that I am forever grateful for.
