Antonia was born in Bucharest, Romania, and she still lives and works there today.

It all began with a parent-teacher meeting in first grade. Her mother came home very upset: all the other children were playing sports or learning musical instruments, and Antonia was doing neither. So she had to choose an activity for after school. She picked drawing classes, because she thought they would be the easiest option. She fell so deeply in love with drawing that she turned it into her career.

The big turning point in her life as a children’s book illustrator was moving to the UK for a master’s degree at the Cambridge School of Art. It was the first time she had lived abroad. The end-of-MA show was pivotal too, because she met many editors from big UK publishers.

Antonia works both digitally and traditionally, mostly with colour pencils, in her little art studio at home. There is always some iced coffee on her desk, and somewhere nearby, her cat, who loves chewing on her art supplies. It is her favourite spot in the house, because she enjoys annoying Antonia.

For most of her picture books, she shows her drawings to two middle school girls she gives drawing lessons to, and she listens to what they think. Antonia works in a lot of detail, and the girls love to stare at an illustration for a long time to find everything going on in it. She shows her work to children whenever she can, because it is made for them.

With Agafay Books, she illustrated A Journey to the End of the Dream, by Nathalie Bonfils. Her hope for the children who open it is this: “I hope children who read my book will feel seen, maybe even a little bit braver, and less alone with their worries, whatever they may be.”