Since she was 10 years old, Carlene knew she was going to be a fashion designer. She grew up in a small town in central Brazil where there were no clothing stores so every family made their own clothes. Carlene learned how to sew from her mother and began experimenting with her own designs at an early age. She grew up dreaming to be a designer and in 1999 followed her dream to South Florida where she launched a line of swimwear with her private label, Manga Rosa Beachwear. Since then some of her collection has been featured in publications like, Fortune Small Business and most recently, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2009. In addition, she has designed dresses that are presently sold in exclusive stores from Palm Beach to Las Vegas and has been seen on the Tyra Banks Show. Carlene recently co-founded the Palm Beach Fashion Connection and is creating quite the local buzz over her fashion shows.