Growing up in a multicultural African suburb in the late 60s through the seventies, tainted with an English colonial way of life. White linen tablecloths, tea & cake at four in the afternoon, candle-lit, home cooked meals on the covered veranda and bedtime tea listening to night creatures and music from the 40s.

Living a somewhat quiet family life as a child and young teenager, sewing & art was my entertainment! Creating everything from my dolls clothes to my wardrobe, art on my walls and my own stationery. Remember those old sewing machines with a hand-crank to make the needle sew? That was my first machine until my mother graduated me to the foot-pedal. I excelled in art at school and always believed I'd be doing something within the art world!

Tina and her family left Africa in 1982, for Toronto Canada where she finished college, married and left for the States in 1990.

A career in advertising, then sales and marketing within a corporate environment Tina always believed she'd eventually be working within a creative environment. Tina eventually left her career to pursue her own business venture.

Tina launched Cid Pear stationery in 2004 which brought much exposure into the world of art and design. The successful stationer designs textiles, gift products and other paper products for various companies around the world.