A Bay Area-based writer, Meg Jose Mateo culls stories from her wide-ranging background. She was born in Oakland, California and raised in the Bay Area, but spent part of her childhood in the Philippines. She’s worked as a journalist, creative director, designer, and stylist, and is the author of 7 books, including the best-selling Craft Inc. and Crafting a Meaningful Home. Formerly an editorial director at Penguin Random House, she’s currently a publishing consultant.

Meg has been featured in Sunset, Real Living, 7x7, and Elle Decor Philippines; served as a guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio, After the Jump, and KPFA; spoken as a panelist at California College of the Arts, Alt Summit, Exceptional Women in Publishing, Liwanag Filipinx Literary Festival, and Long Beach Festival of AAPI Books; received design awards from The Pasadena Museum of California Art and Print Magazine.

A lifelong learner, her interests and skills are wide and guided by curiosity. She has a bachelor's in Psychology with specializations in Asian American Studies and Business Administration from UCLA. After undergrad, she went on to pursue a graduate degree in Architecture, also at UCLA.

These days she likes to work on projects that are at the intersection of art, history, and the vernacular. Her personal creative projects include a family memoir graphic novel and a historical fiction novel.