Welcome to my little corner of the internet!
I am a storyteller made in Bulgaria, raised in Morocco, and matured in the UK. I have lived in Brooklyn since 2019.
I’m a chronically curious storyteller with a passion for niche stories that reveal something broader about how we live, think, and communicate with one another.
Over the past decade, I’ve built a career translating complex ideas—about cities, buildings, materials, and science—into compelling narratives. I am a longtime contributor to Fast Company, where I’ve published over 500 stories.
I also write for Wired, Smithsonian, Condé Nast Traveller, MIT Technology Review, Bloomberg CityLab, Dezeen, and many others across design and culture.
In my 10 years of experience, I’ve conducted 1,000+ interviews with top-tier designers, thinkers, filmmakers, CEOs, academics, scientists--and even my own grandmother! I gravitate towards people who like to push the boundaries of their craft. I myself have been known to anthropomorphize buildings.
(That's me in the attic)
My storytelling spans many formats, including:
• Feature journalism & profiles: my reporting often zooms in on the experimental and the unexpected, like magicians designing tricks for people who are blind, or the guy who has pigeon-proofed all of NYC.
• Moderation & live storytelling: I’ve led public conversations on topics ranging from AI and urban resilience to the cultural symbolism of Christmas trees.
• Editorial direction & strategy: As an editor at OnOffice, I shaped the magazine’s editorial voice and content strategy across print, and digital. Together with a team of three, I published 12 issues on a tight budget with strict deadlines, working closely with the art editor to conceptualize and commission original, compelling covers.
• Copywriting & editorial consulting: I craft bios, project descriptions, thought leadership pieces, assist with PR strategy or client discovery, and more.
• Memoir & investigative non-fiction: I’m currently writing a memoir that pieces together my family’s life in communist-era Bulgaria through the objects found in my grandparents' attic.
• Microfiction & visual storytelling: I run a photo-literary project on Instagram (@vanyo_was_here), pairing 35mm slides taken by my grandfather in the 1960s with original micro non-fiction stories that explores memory, identity, and time.
• Interviews as narrative art: I treat interviews not just as a fact-finding mission but as a collaborative storytelling —whether I’m speaking with a Nobel laureate or my 93-year-old grandmother.
Whether it is fact or fiction, I’m interested in visceral stories that widen your eyes, speed up your heartbeat, tickle your brain cells.
Not sure where to start? Here are some personal favorites!
On Fast Company:
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Inside Ukraine’s colossal task of ‘rebranding’ itself during a war
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Buying furniture online is a terrible experience. So, why are we still doing it?
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From tacky to tasteful: how fake plants are growing into a $1 billion industry
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A wave of new design innovations is finally making the beach accessible for everyone
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How this growing Texas town became a testing ground for flying taxis and Uber-style gondolas
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Here’s what happened when I let AI design my life for a week
Elsewhere:
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The Dust-Covered Objects in My Childhood Attic Tell the Story of Communist Era Bulgaria (Dwell)
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How a 74-Mile Trek in Bali Is Encouraging Visitors to Tread Lightly (Condé Nast Traveler)
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The Long History of Art Inspired by Solar Eclipses (Smithsonian)
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Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Final Performance Is a Virtual-Only Engagement (Wired)
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The pandemic could end waiting in line (The Atlantic)
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How New York City is reclaiming its piers (Smithsonian)