Manufacturing expansion to Latin America.
As of 2022, we proudly add Latin American manufacturing hands to our processes. After visiting over 20 factories, starting the process with 5, and completing the process with 2, we have decided on 1 wonderful and multi-generational factory that aligns with our values. While espadrilles (everything that is built on a jute bottom) will always remain our in-house production in our studio in Puerto Rico, we aspire to be able to keep growing our offering by partnering with factories and organizations both in PR and Latin America. In PR we are developing our own system from scratch. This process is and will continue to be slow and steady. Latin American countries, like Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, have an established footwear manufacturing industry which helps us have more capacity and product diversity.
This was part of our strategic plan since we launched. In 2020, Karla and Norián traveled to meet factories in person but paused this idea because of the pandemic. In 2022 we picked up where we left off, and started our first relationships in Colombia because it is only a 3hr plane ride from our base in San Juan, PR.
Present day in 2024, we continue producing in-house and have strengthen our relationship with our Colombian partner through our on-going small production batches.