Welcome to Vanessa Ford and her family’s life in Portugal.

Hello everyone! We’re thrilled to introduce you to Vanessa Ford, the inspiring force behind Super Sema.

Her life is a global adventure alongside her adorable family, captured in every image by the talented photographer Natalia Horinkova. Together, they bring forth this beautiful collaboration where they showcase and speak to us about their life with stories of love, travel, and family. 

Through the photos by Natalia and the interview with Vanessa, they invite us on a journey filled with discoveries, laughter, and special moments. Join us as we uncover the beauty of everyday life with this extraordinary family.

Thanks to Natalia Horinkova in collaboration with Maison Mangostan, we get a glimpse into their family oasis, where adventure and serenity meet.

 

How did I meet Johan?

I met my husband Johan at his surprise going-away party in Dubai—it was his last night in town after living there for about a year. Funny enough, I was the only person at the party that he didn't know. And guess what? He was moving to London, where I was living. Talk about perfect timing—he always jokes that I was Dubai’s parting gift to him.

 

What brought me to Portugal?

Living in London as a young family and settling into careers and "grown up" life just didn't feel quite right. We had it all— a house in Nottinghill, careers in film and startups, and three kids.  But something was missing. So we decided as a family that it was time to set off on an adventure, to learn new ways of life, to find more balance and meaning, to speak new languages, and to create traditions that could shape us into better people for the rest of our lives.  It was a tough decision to reset our lives in a new country, but we are grateful everyday that we took that leap of faith! We love our life here and we finally found a place to call home— an oasis where our family can continue to explore, play, and grow old together :)

 

What do I love to do with my family?

We're a mix of adventurers and homebodies! We absolutely love to travel—we spent last summer in Kenya where our kids rode donkeys to their local school in Lamu. But we also cherish our time at home. We renovated an old quinta by the sea and most days, you can find us barefoot, climbing trees and rocks, swimming in the pool, or picking fruit right from our garden. We're all about sports too; our kids are really into tennis, football and surfing. Instead of biking to school, they head out with their surfboards. Now that's living it up!