Most of Alida's life has been involved with sewing in one form or another. She started around the age of 10, when her great grandmother spent a few days showing her the basics on an old foot powered machine. From there Alida was hooked and continued to learn, mostly by trial and error. The early days involved pillows, simple quilts & basic clothes. As Alida's skills progressed, her projects grew more complicated and eventually evolved into the niche products found on Martilena.com. Alida loves to experiment with different styles and work with fabrics of all colors and patterns.

For Alida, sewing as a business began shortly after the birth of her first child. While Alida's original offerings were all high quality, her skills have now been honed to the point of producing items with a quality second to none in the industry. Originally operating under the name Wicked Stitch Designs, Alida recently changed the name to Martilena. The name Martilena is derived from both her children's names, so she makes sure that every piece she produces is worthy of such a special name.