Looking at Fabio Himmelstoss’s photo you may think that you’ve fallen through the looking glass but rest assured, it’s just this young designer’s creativity and personality shining through.

In fact, it’s what prompted us to click on his page and invite him for an interview, that and his fascinating story.

Born to German parents living in the United States, Fabio moved with his family back to Germany when he was still an infant. By the time he finished school in Munich, however, he knew that he had a passion for design and wanted to start his own company. But not in Germany. It was time for another move.

Beyond, a photo-painting collaboration by Fabio Himmelstoss and Lenka Pollakova

Though he has never been trained in design, since the age of 15 Fabio has enjoyed designing things on his computer. So, armed with his laptop, he decided to start freelancing as a designer in Puerto de Andratx, in Spain’s Balearic Islands. As he says, the only things he needs to be able to work are his computer and a steady internet connection so he can keep in touch with his clients and research the things he doesn’t know. While it’s a rather uncommon method and one which some of his clients find usual, it’s worked pretty well for him thus far. In the end, they’re always happy with his work.

With such flexibility, after two years of living on a sunny Spanish island, Fabio decided it was time for yet another change of scenery. So he moved to Arbon, Switzerland where he enjoys visiting the castle of Arbon, its beautiful museum and learning about the 5,000 years of history there. Not to mention the fact that he can eat tons of amazing chocolate and cheese in Swizterland. But for him, the best thing is the ability to work easily between Swiss and German clients.

Always eager to challenge himself and learn new things, about a year and a half ago he took on a client with a couple of apartments to rent. He crafted their corporate identity but they didn’t have any photographs of their apartments. Instead, they gave Fabio a $50 camera and asked him to take some pictures. Agreeing to the task, he soon realized he loved it and decided to learn more about photography. His constantly empty iPhone camera roll soon filled up and he bought himself an entry level DSLR camera. Since then he’s spent his time taking pictures and learning as much as he can about photography.

Fabio Himmelstoss and Lenka Pollakova working on Between2Lines

In the spirit of constantly trying new things, he’s now applying his photography skills to a more creative endeavor together with abstract painter, Lenka Pollakova of Slovenia. Called Between2Lines the project combines both of their skills, photography and painting, to lend a surrealistic touch to her paintings and a uniqueness to his photographs.

While Fabio seems settled in Switzerland for now, this nomadic designer and photographer won’t be there forever. Though it’s not set in stone, he’d like his next stop to be the United States.

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Eliana Arredondo is the Community Manager for about.me. She is a graduate of Stanford University.