HISTORY
This is a story that begins with A and ends with A because it is a circular, infinite story. And very feminine. It is the story of a girl, a woman, a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, a sister. This is the story of Antonia. It is the story of Amaya. This is the story of all those women who, despite the difficulties... always end up succeeding.
Antonia started sewing at the age of 13. At that time, miniskirts were already popular in America, but in Rafal, what was popular was to teach the girls to do their work so that they would marry early and well.
And indeed, she did. Antonia married José. A country man, who apparently carried the seed of feminism within him, because when he discovered his wife's skills with the needle, he stopped planting potatoes and planted himself at the door of the main shopkeepers in the area to offer his creations.
CREATIVITY AND FERTILITY
And soon life blessed them with two beautiful children who filled them with happiness. The three men of the house helped in Antonia's workshop so that the business soon went from an XS to an S, then to an M... But despite the bonanza, Antonia felt an emptiness in the pocket just above her heart.
Who would wear her dresses? Who would wear those princess skirts? This gave her a curious sadness which, instead of bursting into tears, she embroidered in the form of skirts, leggings and doublets. And every ruffle, every lace, seemed to invoke that little girl.
That finally... arrived.
It was called Amaya. Amaya means "the end". The end of sadness, the end of waiting. And the beginning of everything. Her mother, some say as a sign of gratitude, others believe it was a prophetic act, immediately changed the name of her workshop to "ArtesanÃa Amaya". An enormous weight for such a little girl, which, as she grew up, far from tying her to her destiny, catapulted her far away from there. London, Paris, NY, Madrid. The little girl lost herself among exotic fabrics and patterns from other worlds where she learned, embroidered, created, designed, experimented, manufactured, doodled, spun, invented, played, kamikazeó,... Until she turned the alphabet upside down and returned to the very starting point.
Amaya returned to Rafal, her home town, driven by an impulse as natural and ineffable as being born.
And it was the umbilical thread that linked her to her mother that had 20% of elastane in it. And it was that freedom that launched her into the world and that loving elasticity that brought her back, filled with inspiration, vision, passion... and a voice of her own.
"I am Amaya. Daughter of Antonia and José, sister of Miguel and Fernando. My destiny is sewn to that of my people. Today I embrace their legacy, with a mission:
May the girls who are looking for each other find themselves in my dresses, may they feel their beauty and their inner strength unfold in each skirt, may the fabrics draw a vortex of light that envelops them in security and joy when they turn around. May every bow bind them to their essence, and may every day they dress like this be a celebration. I want to work with women who break old patterns to create new silhouettes, freer, lighter, more authentic. I want all the sleepless nights of my mother, all the sacrifices of my brothers and my father, all the pricks in my fingers, all the rips and tears to become shiny sequins woven into a dress as long as a road. And may we walk it together to reach every corner of the world where there is a girl who needs to shine."
Love your uniqueness. Love this moment. Love your talent.
Amaya.