Somewhere over the Rainbow

Behind the Everyone Collection

Pride Month is coming to an end, we are right at the end of the rainbow, that's why this time we tell you everything behind the Everyone Collection. We spoke with Jess, our Product Development Coordinator, and this is what she told us. Read on to find out!

First, tell us a little about your role in this collection.

What I do on this side is take the primary design ideas and bring them into the physical realm. All the ideas that the designers have, I see if they are possible or not, if they are functional, if they can be patterned. Subsequently, I make the patterns and the prototyping, that is, the first samples on the sewing machine, and I make them to see if those patterns work, if not, I correct the design until we reach the final result. Finally, I elaborate many technical sheets: product, artisanal, finish, and print sheets to pass it on to production, which is an area where I also collaborate and they support me with issues such as material selection.

What was the process for designing Everyone Collection?

In fact, Everyone Collection is the first collection where I did the development myself; the designers gave me their already planned designs and I dedicated myself to developing them. Even though I studied this, I had never been fully immersed in the process, that is, working through the entire creative process involved in creating a single product. But it's something I love! I liked being able to see everything behind it, from when the designers create their designs on the computer, in Illustrator and Photoshop. They brainstorm, choose the theme, research it thoroughly, then all together they have another huge brainstorming session, with thousands of options. From that world of options, they discard and unify until they reach maybe only six or seven, to then give the go-ahead. I love product development, but I had never been involved in the artisanal part.

What was the inspiration for creating Everyone Collection?

It is mainly inspired by two elements. The first is joy and optimism, which is why we use the color yellow, as it represents happiness, celebration, and positivity. Coming out of such a strong process as the Covid-19 pandemic, we wanted to see a radical shift towards joy. We know that we are coming from a sad period, that many people lost family members, and what we want to tell them is that better times are coming. That's why the yellow Pantone chosen is a not-so-bright, friendly tone, that doesn't quite reach pastel, since psychologically yellow has a strong impact on us, and we wanted it to be a beautiful shade, like butter yellow. On the other hand, Confetti is present as a print to contribute to this joyful concept, as it reminds us of parties, joy, and good spirits. The second is, of course, the LGBTQ+ representation that we want to address this Pride month, which is why we use the movement's flag and also include "Love is Love," a very important phrase that was used during the social movements of the 70s: the LGBTQ+ movement and the hippie movement. This phrase is very powerful, and what we seek to convey is that love is love, regardless of gender.

What kind of craftsmanship is behind the Collection?

For this collection, we feature three crafts. The one used in the Lightpack Everyone and the Everyone Essential Case is the "chicotillo" loom, a classic of Someone Somewhere. On the other hand, the pocket was used again in the Rainbow Pocket T-shirt. These have been our star products that our customers really like. Finally, in this collection, we included chain stitch embroidery. It was chosen because we wanted to give a balloon effect to the letters in "Love Is Love" on the Tote Bag Everyone and the Everyone T-shirt. Initially, we thought of only putting them in some segments, like the sides or horizontal parts of the letter, but we realized that when we filled it, the letter looked puffed up, and we loved it! Also, another reason we chose chain stitch embroidery was to support the Tenango community.

What was your experience developing this Collection with the artisans?

For now, I've only been to the community once, as I've only been at SS for a short time, but that one time is enough to say that I loved it. I'm a person who connects a lot with people, I'm very sociable and I love to talk. Since I arrived, the artisans were super attentive with me. On that occasion, we had to teach them some techniques, and they always pay attention. It's very enriching to share your knowledge. Something that really struck me about this experience was seeing how the word spread among them that there was work from SS. The first day we arrived there were few artisans and the second day there were many more. I had no idea the movement was like that, you know? I thought they had established teams, I imagined arriving and seeing the artisans in a workshop. But when I arrived and realized that they met at someone's house, for example, in this case it was at Nica's, and that it was because they called each other through messages, it was something that generated a lot of sympathy in me. We, in general, are very comfortable here, and sometimes we don't realize all the shortcomings that exist outside. For example, I also didn't know that some of the artisans don't even know how to write, so it was difficult for them to put their name on the label. At the end of the day, this experience makes me realize that a very noticeable difference is indeed made in the lives of artisans, and I think that's what I liked the most, realizing that in the end there are results.

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We thank Jess for telling us what's behind Everyone Collection, this collection designed to support the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate and share that better times await us all.

If you still don't have your favorite piece from the collection, don't waste any more time. Remember that it's a limited edition and time is running out. ⏱️🧐 Don't forget that with your purchase you make a difference in the lives of Mexican artisans across the country. Don't wait any longer!