We spoke to Andrés, founder of Tainos and one of the winners of the Fashion Ideas Tuning crowdfunding competition.
Thanks to the competition’s prize, his idea now has the necessary momentum to get under way as an entrepreneurial project. It has obtained €1,620 that will serve as a starting point to give a voice to the pre-Columbian Taino people, completely unknown to many. His objective is to restore the artwork of this culture through screen-printed and printed clothes with his own designs, inspired by the paintings and petroglyphs of the Taino.
This is what he told us when we recently met him for the interview:
When and how did you come up with the idea?
The idea’s origin is a bit of a combination between my love of history and the attraction I feel for tribal or ethnic art, I guess because of its symbolic significance, as well as my geographic romance with the island paradises of the Antilles and the Caribbean Sea. I couldn’t say exactly when, but my admiration for this culture and their graphic and visual arts began to take shape little by little.
I felt the need to capture their art and share it in some way, and a few days before starting the campaign in Lánzanos.com I thought that T-shirts or sweatshirts would be a good way to do so. Honestly, I don’t believe it is a great or brilliant idea, but I understand that it is still maturing and, just like the designs, it will continue to evolve.
Why did you choose crowdfunding as a way of getting the project started?
Well, I think it was the best option at my disposal, since developing the campaign and objectives seemed like the best way to assess whether it was a good or bad idea, something that I consider priceless. Also, if I reached the target, it allowed me to create clothes to reward sponsors, taking the project from that virtual phase where it is only an idea to a tangible phase, undoubtedly a crucial step in moving forward with the project.
Did you encounter any obstacles while you were developing the idea?
The truth is that, luckily, I didn’t encounter any problems, on the contrary since the moment the campaign started I felt the support of the platform’s team, giving me recommendations and guidelines at all times, just as I felt from you, too. What is more, I have to give thanks to Marta Pizarro, who suggested I participate and insisted that I take part in the Fashion Ideas Tuning competition, and thanks to ideas4all, of course, for their magnificent proposals for entrepreneurs, who have made it possible for me to be the winner of one of the prizes today. So more than obstacles I found springboards that drove me forward, so I am just thankful.
What advice would you give to someone who also has an idea and wants to make it come true?
If they think their idea is feasible, they should have no doubts or fears in their minds about starting it up, by doing so they will have a measure of what the idea’s strengths and weaknesses are, and they will be able to redirect it or make it evolve if necessary. Also, they won’t have to ask themselves… would it have worked? Right? But the best advice I think I can give them is to look for support in specialized platforms, to let professionals with a lot of experience in the matter guide and advise them. That is something we are lucky to have.
And now that you have obtained the necessary funding, looking forward, what are your next steps and objectives?
The most immediate, on one hand, is getting started with rewards for my sponsors, now that my campaign in Lánzanos.com is ending, and on the other hand, creating an elegant and functional website where our adventure can begin.
