Interview · The leather masters
Working with this precious family has been a highlight for me for years. Sarai is more than a designer and partner that we do production with, she is like a sister.
How fortunate I am to have so many special people in my life that we work with.
Here you will hear some of our conversation to share some insight into how we have worked together for the last 7 years.
How fortunate I am to have so many special people in my life that we work with.
Here you will hear some of our conversation to share some insight into how we have worked together for the last 7 years.
1. Tell us about yourself, the history of your brand and where you started.
Hi, Bixi awotan is a family business formed by 4 siblings, Noelia, Maria, Saraí and Uriel Torres, is a company that started in approximately 2006, but without the idea of being a business. Noelia and María Torres, studied design of fashions and have to carry out different projects creating products, they always focused on leather bags and accessories, her friends began to request to sell them the pieces they had designed, and that's how it started...
More people started requesting their products and spreading the word, Subsequently, the demand grew and it was necessary to enlarge the team Also for what Saraí Torres joined, taking charge of the sales and his brother Uriel in the production area. The essence of bixi products, awotan is the care in all the details, from the choice of each one of the materials, to the design, always keeping handcrafted details that make each piece unique and unrepeatable.
2. Tell us what makes you passionate about your brand and your vision for it
We're passionate about being able to create products that manage to generate emotions and connect with other people, it is like speaking the same and unique language through a product where someone unknown can understand something that you have created based on your inspiration, being able to communicate the same thing that you felt with others is incredible! In the same way, we are motivated by achieving a positive impact in all the people who are part of our team directly and indirectly, giving jobs and supporting women who for different reasons can't leave home to work, and we can provide them with handicrafts that they can do from home, this scheme has motivated us even more, to always maintain handmade details in each of our products.
3. How did you come to Eclectic Array and what do you like about working with us?
It was a lucky day that Eclectic Array came to us, we were exposing our products at an International Manufacturers Fair and they approached to learn more, it was an immediate connection and from that moment which was almost exactly when Eclectic Array started, we started to collaborate together and it has been very rewarding to be part of an altruistic company guided with passion, love and respect and many values, we love to see the great impact it generates in society with marginalized communities, employees, suppliers like us and more, for which we feel very proud to be a small part of that great social impact.
4. Would you share with us any interesting fact about your design process and product elaboration?
Our processes start from the search for the best materials that provide the best quality, from local and responsible suppliers, in a matter of design we look for the products to be timeless, that you use them based on your style and not just for a passing trend, we use leather of the best quality, so with the passage of time look even better and you can use for many years. We always try to keep some detail handcrafted as the insignia of our brand.
5. What's your inspiration? Is there anything specific or someone that inspires you?
I could not mention any specific inspiration, but something that we always take into account is to create products that can cover a need, thinking about different lifestyles, activities, tastes, and in matter of design, we love to travel, get to know different cultures and I think that's where great ideas come from.
6. Who's your team and what can you share about them?
Noelia Torres, she is in charge of design and sales in the USA. Maria Torres, Design and development of products. Saraí Torres, product development and marketing. Uriel Torres, production.
7. Do you have a favorite piece? Tell us about your best sellers or unique designs for EA?
The Tulum bag is our best seller and also one of my favorites, because it has a very special design and a very complex craft process, is the bag that it takes longer to make because of all that goes into it.
8. Please tell us about the staff and inclusion guidelines you have at the company.
We notice that there are many single mothers, with some disability, or for different reasons cannot leave their home easily to get a job, that's when we decided to give them work that they could do in their house, without a schedule, only the commitment of responsibility, their support in the elaboration of fabrics, details that can only be done by hand, that allows us to generate a greater social impact and in the same way its help is very important and indispensable for us.
As we are constantly creating and recieving new products and designs with Sarai and her family, there is always something exciting in the pipeline. Stay tuned to see what we do together next.