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February has arrived, which means the year has officially begun in Puerto Rico! With it comes the relentless hope that we can make things just a little better each day for the people and causes we care about. This month has already been a lot—so much so that if I included everything, this newsletter would turn into a full-length novel. So, some stories will have to wait until March. Stay tuned!

I kicked off the month with an incredible invitation from Inexmoda, thanks to my longtime friend and collaborator, Ruby, to attend Colombiatex—aka, the biggest fabric and trims fair in all of LATAM. And wow—what a week!Not only did Ruby and her business partner, Clarena from Woot Woman Travel, put together an epic itinerary packed with factory tours, in-store workshops by designers and brand owners, and store tours with some of Medellín’s top suppliers, but we (all 15 of us) also got to experience the city's vibrant culture and have an absolute blast while at it.

I've been a fan of Mailye Matos’s work since the Retazo days, when I had the privilege of guest-speaking in one of her classes at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. What I admire most is her approach to teaching Puerto Rican fashion history—giving students a much-needed dose of context and critical thinking, something painfully absent from most fashion programs elsewhere.

If you're new here, you may or may not know that—back to September 2010, when I decided to launch a fashion brand during New York Fashion Week. Naturally, my collection was inspired by home, and one thing I really wanted in the show was pava hats or at the very least, pava-like hats… But there was a problem: I couldn’t find an artisan willing to make 12 of them (pava making is a dying craft even today). Enter Isaac Laboy, one of Puerto Rico’s master craftsmen, who not only took on the challenge but also created custom belts in his Quebradillas workshop

This led to a nostalgic deep dive with my friend Suset, who back in the day handled all copy and press for my brand and was also my flatmate. We reminisced about those late-night creative sessions, the chaos of putting the collection together, and how surreal it is to see the pava have its real moment now. She wrote an article about it for Platea PR—though heads up, it’s in Spanish.

I’ve got open consulting slots for the rest of February and March! If you need insight on a business idea, a product in development, a circularity challenge, or a manufacturing solution, book a discovery call here. Let’s explore the possibilities—zero commitment, just good conversation. And if I’m not the right fit, I’ll happily connect you with someone who is.

Lately, I’ve been teaming up with Ruby and defining our business alliance, so if your best solution happens to be a trip to Medellín… consider it officially prescribed.