Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla López Rivera.
Hi Karla, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was always creative. Upon graduating high school, I headed to Rhode Island School of Design, where I graduated with a BFA in Furniture Design in 2008. My furniture designs had traditional femininity, so I wondered about working in fashion or footwear, two industries where I could design specifically for women. I went on to have my first professional experiences in these two fields between New York and California. My first experience with shoes was interning at TOMS in Los Angeles, their first year in business! That took me to Italy to finish a Master’s in Footwear Design from Polimoda. Afterward, I moved to New York and managed the design and production process for small footwear brands 10 years later; I received a grant from a business accelerator to start a brand based in Puerto Rico. That brand is called Isleñas, and we propose to revive the needle industry in Puerto Rico to create a positive social impact by making colorful and comfortable footwear in Puerto Rico and Latin America.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Besides the regular challenges of starting a business operating from this geography, it has particular struggles. It is an economically unstable island, impacted by natural disasters without the right resources to bounce back. This means a weak infrastructure and inefficient government processes that affect all businesses here.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Isleñas?
Isleñas is a footwear and accessories brand based in Puerto Rico and manufactured in Puerto Rico and Latin America. Our mission is to create a positive social impact in Puerto Rico through our manufacturing. We train to hire our team members in-house and partner with local non-profit organizations that already use sewing as a tool for economic autonomy in their communities. Isleñas footwear bridges the gap between fashion and comfort by designing colorful shoes with sneaker-level comfort insole support. We don’t follow the traditional fashion calendar of multiple new collections yearly. We design purposefully to create a core and ongoing collection that includes original, identifiable designs with a warm playfulness in representing quality and sustainable Caribbean design. The best example of our products is the first design we launched, which is still the best seller: the Off Grid Sandal in Full Spectrum. This three-strap grid sandal has a full spectrum or rainbow across both feet, making it a conversation piece and bringing people closer together.
Let’s end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
How can the brand grow to offer and diversify fair opportunities in Puerto Rico?
Pricing:
- $150
- $230
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lasislenas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/islenasstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/islenasstudio/
- Other: https://www.modo-consciente.com/
Image Credits
Jamie Chung
