Conceição Pinheiro Brandão was born and raised in São João da Madeira. She graduated in Footwear Design at the Centro de Formação Profissional de Calçado in 1991, and years later, in 2003, she graduated in Fine Arts at Escola Superior de Artes in Porto.
She participated and collaborated in several fashion events as well as in painting exhibitions.
She is a teacher of Visual Arts and Technological Education.
Since the beginning, she has participated in the Illustration Meetings held in S. João da Madeira.

Helena Zália was born in the “cradle city” but grew up in the countryside. She says it was nature which roused her curiosity and restless spirit.
She graduated in Visual Arts in Leiria, and later in Communication Design/Graphic Production in Aveiro and Barcelona.
Besides being a Visual Arts teacher, she organises workshops and has illustrated some stories for children.
In 2016, Helena Zália created Zai-Zai Edições, where she develops handmade and customised books.

Sofia Correia is the founder of Faz de Conto Livraria, a space in Coimbra dedicated to illustrated books.
She began her professional career at a book market in the city of Madrid in April 2017, where and when she had the opportunity to work at one of the biggest book fairs in the world. In the Spanish capital, she also worked at the Liberespacio bookshop, both specialising in children's literature, and doing a lot of research on how Spanish bookshops function.
At the end of 2017, she founded her own space and has developed since then several important events for the city, such as Ilustríssimo - Mercado de Illustrator.