BEHIND THE SCENES…

CLaudia was born in Colombia, raised in Washington, D.C. and spent summers in South America. She was inspired by her maternal entrepreneur grandfather, a South American leather hide dealer, owner of a shoe factory and founder of a chain of high-end retail shoe stores. Claudia’s paternal grandfather, Eduardo Augusto Echeverria pombo, was a member of one of cartagena’s oldest families. Their family home, an architectural jewel, is now a beautifully restored hotel in cartagena Casa Pombo.

claudia and her three sisters were raised by a single mom, windowed at the age of 28. Claudia came to washington d.c. from colombia as a baby with her sisters and mom who wanted to join her mother and sister, a scientist completing a fellowship at georgetown university. Her mom went to night school to learn english and later built a distinguished career at the inter-american development bank and the united nations.

“ I adore my culture and the fact that I am bi-lingual. Despite the difficult circumstances that brought my generation to the States, I am grateful to my family for enduring the hardships in order to give us so many opportunities. it takes a village and the women in my family are warriors!”

After graduating from college, Claudia worked as a shoe buyer + trend forecaster for the preppy cult classic lifestyle brand Pappagallo. She also won awards for her work at a national designer jewelry brand, expanding the line into new east coast markets. her dream was to open a lifestyle boutique and that became a reality in 1994 when claudia and her sister founded the delightful and award-winning hey Little Diddle child & home.

“entrepreneurship is in my blood. It fuels my creative energy. I also love design, sales and curating collections. there are so many beautiful things in our world and i scour the globe to bring the best to my clients and design partners.”

HEY LITTLE DIDDLE CHILD & HOME

Claudia and her sister Maria Lucoff, who holds a masters degree from drexel in interior architecture & design, are best known for their work at Hey Little Diddle, the award-winning brick and mortar lifestyle boutique and interior design business they co-owned and operated from 1994-2004.

The sisters’ relaxed California style and sophisticated European aesthetic became a hit in Philadelphia and the Main Line. The charming boutique located in a 1920s stone cottage was the go-to emporium for designer and handmade clothing, bed linens, furnishings and gifts.

before the internet days, their store was featured numerous times in Philadelphia Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local and national publications, most notably the wall street journal. Claudia and Maria used their unique creative talents to establish a successful interior design business through Hey Little Diddle, which paved the way for their respective careers in design.