Meet Adan Maldonado | Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adan Maldonado and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adan, how do you think about risk?
Risk is basically the ethos of any Entrepreneur; essentially you are betting on yourself. Sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn’t, but part of taking risks is knowing the lessons learned from failures are as valuable as the successes. Personally, I’ve had more losses than wins, but I’ve learned to persevere even when it’s hard and scary. Ultimately, being willing to take risk is about looking at the bigger picture, and not making the safe bet. I am sure I’d have more money in the bank at this exact moment had I chosen a “safe” career path, but I’m betting on a brighter future that measures my success in happiness and by building something lucrative that I love doing.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Amano is a portmanteau of “a mano”, which simply means “by hand” in Spanish. Before I started this brand & retail concept, I had been making leather goods by hand under another name for a few years. I had never liked that branding, and I wanted something instead that encapsulated exactly what my work was about, and so Amano was born.

I was fortunate to be able to open a shop during the Covid 19 pandemic when I got a deal on a very rough space that needed a lot of work. I had been looking for an art studio where I could continue to make my leather goods to sell at markets, but realized I could combine a workshop with a retail concept, old-school style. This also afforded me the opportunity to round up a curated selection of work from other local artists & designers to fill the shop and create a fuller retail experience.

My personal work focuses on custom made-to-order leather goods like belts, wallets, bags, dog accessories, etc.. I like being able to offer a bespoke experience to my customers, who can come in and choose their leather & hardware, and get sized for the perfectly fitted belt, or select the colors for their personalized wallet. As far as I know, nobody else in Los Angeles does it quite the way that I do. I’d rather make something special for each customer, than have them just buy off the rack – although they can always do that too, if they just need something in a hurry. I always keep a rotating selection of belts, wallets, dog accessories, etc., on the shelves so people can see, touch, and smell the leather. And, as it’s a fully functional workshop, when people walk in they see me in action, actually making leather goods the old way, “a mano”.

While Amano is the in-house handmade brand of leather goods, it’s also a one-stop-shop collection of handmade accessories, apparel, décor, jewelry, footwear, & personal care products from local, independent designers & brands. In keeping with the brand identity of hand-made over fast-fashion, I also carry a limited selection of vintage, from leather jackets to Japanese denim, to indigo textiles from all over the world.

While I’ve been open a year and a half, I’m no stranger to struggle and am still in the infancy stages of lifting a business off the ground. This winter has been challenging, as I rely primarily on foot traffic and word of mouth, and the constant rain has drastically reduced traffic. Thankfully, this has also given me the time to devote to building my online presence, and I’m starting to focus more on building the wholesale side of the brand. I’m also beginning to teach design & leatherworking workshops, which are a lot of fun. Having a business like mine is all about learning to pivot, and figure out what works best to drive revenue and keep the lights on!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, I’d say come check out our little retail corner of Echo Park Ave, where you can snag a vintage find at Los Rodeos, grab a book at Des Pair, and shop for lingerie at Le Boudoir on your way to over to Canyon for a coffee. I’m a huge fan of Rose Bowl Flea Market, which is one of the the biggest in the country. The Petersen Automotive Museum is a fantastic homage to the design & auto culture in Los Angeles. I’m more of a mountains than beach guy, so I’d also suggest a cruise up the Angeles Crest Highway for sweeping views of LA County, and a waterfall hike while we’re up there.

Food-wise, LA is a treasure trove of immigrant cultures and cuisines. I’d take a guest to Alhambra for Chengdu Taste’s spicy toothpick lamb skewers and Dan Dan Noodles, We’d definitely hit up Ruen Pair for late night Tom Yum Gai hot pot, Pho 87 in Chinatown for the city’s best special combo bowl, Cosa Buona for the epic Stepmother Italian sandwich, the Mariscos Jalisco truck for incredible seafood, Guisados for the best cochinita pibl and chicharron tacos in LA, and the spiciest ramen at Tsujita. Basically, you’re guaranteed to gain some weight if I’m your tour guide.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Family, first and foremost. I was raised in the rare environment that was truly encouraging of me to take any path I wanted. I learned how to work with my hands doing construction projects and tinkering with my dad who was an engineer. My artistic side came from my mother, who was a painter, musician, writer and English teacher. My grandmother has also been a big inspiration for me, as she was a dressmaker and shop owner in East Los Angeles in a time when women rarely ran their own businesses.

I was also fortunate to study in both the Accessories Design and Entrepreneurship programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Their accessories program is very unique in that you learn to make footwear and accessories from scratch, from initial concept through production, while their Entrepreneurship program focuses on building a business in the design industries. And somehow a decade later, here we are!

Website: amanogoods.com

Instagram: amanogoods

Facebook: amanogoods

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/amano-goods-los-angeles

Image Credits
Christopher Wormald, Adan Maldonado