stephen di renza was born in philadelphia and has lived in lyon, new york, paris, hanoi and london.

his different activities - product designer, fashion director, creative director... - have always centered around the visual and applied arts.

he first came to fez in 1999 and instantly fell in love with the place leaving with the property that is now riad n°9.

stephen has been living full time in morocco since 2007.

in the summer of 2013 he was appointed creative director for retail operations for jardin majorelle in marrakech and now divides his time between the two cities.

after restoring the riad his next project is to convert a derelict building adjoining riad n°9 into a garden.