After returning to Mallorca after many years in New York City, working for fashion brands, I wasn't ready to disconnect from my love for fashion and treasure hunting. Finding myself with límited shopping options other than big chain stores, I decided to turn my clothes-hunting craving into an online shop, folklorious.com. From there I had a lot of good feedback that led me to participate in the luxurious Puerto Portals market. It was kind of for fun, but I had more success than I expected and I found myself chasing more products in order to get to the end of the market period. People kept asking me, ‘where is your store’? I didn't have one, so I created it. First in a small location that was easy to manage. I have always worked in fashion but never at the retail store level and I didn't know if it was going to be for me. Well, it has been for 10 years now, so...
Yes, it has been 10 years. It was especially difficult getting through Covid. We had to do a major reorganisation because at that point we had two locations, but it was clear that the influx of tourism was not going to be the same and we didn't need two physical locations anymore. So we let one shop go, and then we had the opportunity to move to a prime real estate area in Palma, which wasn't accessible previously.
Mallorca has its retail intricacies. There is a big difference in visitors between the seasons, and that is a reality one must adapt to. Also there is such a diverse public, with people coming from different countries, as well as the Mallorcan community, each having different needs or styles. So that is something that we had to adapt to, to understand our clientele in their own way.
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The recent trip to Uruguay and Colombia was an unexpected invitation. I was invited by the exports desk of the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce to learn about the wool industry. While it is a small country, it is number four in wool exports and it has a mosaic of brands and artisans that are based there. I made great connections and I am excited to develop collaborations with some brands that I became truly enamoured with. Colombia was also a discovery, but I am more familiar with it. I have been a fan of the country’s diverse crafts for awhile now and when I got there it really delivered! Beyond what I knew, I was able to get to know some of the communities and understand glimpses of their reality, of how they work day to day. I would say that this is equally interesting to me as the end product. It adds a human dimension that is added to the product. It feels like less consumption and more human even if it looks the same on the outside.
This is the actual fuel for my inspiration, getting to know these communities, having an exchange with them, creating a collaboration that allows us to learn in both directions. The experience in Africa was exactly that. Someone that I know has an N.G.O. and originally her objective was to create an orphanage, but halfway through the building of the premises she realised that she could organise the mothers into working groups so they could keep their kids. She helped them by giving them microcredits that would get them started. I collaborated with a group of seamstresses who developed some dresses and skirts done using the traditional African wax printed fabrics. It was an incredible experience. I travelled there with my son and we lived with all of the women and their children for two-weeks. Forty-five people in the house, with antique foot pedal sewing machines and charcoal irons while we were
developing a capsule collection for Folklorious… It was an unforgettable experience.
Fringes, red, feathers…
I would say that accessories are the salt to your cooking. It is where personality shines through.
The community is what makes Folklorious possible. We are always excited to open ourselves up and see what emerges in these spaces.
Nature, between the sea and going for hikes, that is where I like to spend as much time as possible. l also love dancing and I’m enjoying the day parties where there is outdoor dancing.
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