Meet Paula Martini | Maker

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

Hi Paula, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My small brand, Paula Martini, tells a story – one of sea, sand and steady wind. But most of all, a story of how to adapt to your surroundings.

After studying art in Buenos Aires, fashion at New York’s Parsons School of Design, and Dying Techniques at Central Saint Martin´s in London, I fell in love with someone and we had this crazy idea to get settled in the then decidedly uncosmopolitan fishing village of José Ignacio, Uruguay. This was 1997.
I never thought the force of nature in our surroundings would be stronger than my plans and will.
I was literally forced to abandon everything I was taught about the making process, about the fashion business, basically forget everything I had learnt about how to produce garments.
I needed to understand and respect the rhythm of nature, of a seasonal life, slow down, dive in, see what I could do in such paucity, and in such a scarce land.
I thought I should use the few resources i had in hand and Inspired by the Uruguayan tradition of handmade knitting, along with the elegant simplicity of our natural surroundings on the ocean, I started, very slowly, a knitwear brand.

I always had in mind that the pieces should exist to be cherished and kept, and should always outlive seasonal trends. I then added some easy to wear pieces for summer in silk, linen and cotton and started dyeing. .
I thought it was always good to use the highest quality of the wool I could get my hands onto. So, Noble yarns, impeccable craftsmanship, a strong personal aesthetic and the charm of José Ignacio were all woven with care into each piece.
Today, more than 20 years later, our signature knitwear design is intimately entwined with the José Ignacio way of life. For years, the actual garment production was synched with the village’s seasonal rhythms. Autumn was the time for sketching ideas, Winter for knitting, Spring for dying and Summer for releasing them to our loyal and eager buyers. Spring being my favorite stage, when, we tirelessly experiment with dyes, textures and trimmings, breathing inimitable life into each piece.

Because of our high standard of craftsmanship — and, of course, through the intimacy of the knitters own labors in executing our designs — these knits each carry within them the sense of having been touched, enhancing the feeling of comfort and warmth in each. The pieces speak of the appreciation of patience and they become emotional clothing.
Handmade was a genuine choice for me, an obvious extension of my natural surroundings, but it was also a way of preserving a craft that has always been practiced by women in the area and that is not much embraced by younger generations.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend visits Jose Ignacio I would definitely make him or her come DURING JIFF (jose Ignacio Film Festival) And we would work our life around that incredible venture.

Lunch and dinner and drinks and lunch again at La Huella
Breakfast and lunch and coffee breaks and paellas at Mostrador Santa Teresita
Dinner more than once at Marismo and of course at La Olada and of course at La Juana
Fresh healthy lunch at Cruz del Sur for sure

Take morning yoga lessons at Yoga Shack with Isabella Channing

Breakfast at La Panadería after yoga

I would spend days at the beach and take walks and bike rides all around: beaches, lakes, forests, country side…
We would spend the afternoons at A Pura Vela by the lake.
We would go horseback riding at my friends Ana Luisa’s
Then go back to Rizoma , the most wonderful library on earth.
We would spend cinema evenings with the best ,Juan Pittaluga, at Posada Ayana (after a drink for sunset )
Sunrise at Ayana, at james Turrel’s skyspace
We would buy alfajores from Calma and drink mate with friends at la mansa beach
We would shop at Felix, Santas Negras, La Estena and El Canuto !
I think we need two weeks

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To Everyone in our team of course! Specially Tatiana my assistant, my right and left hand for over 20 years, she, who went together with me through everything, ups and downs, and still does
To All the knitters with whom we worked along the way, with their inputs and happy mistakes too. With their craft and patience. I love them.
Also to Silvana, the main seamstress in our team, who understands what I want to do before i even speak or draw and does it even more beautifully than i ever dreamt of.
To my special friends with whom I collaborate permanently.

Website: Www.paulamartini.com

Instagram: Paula.martini.ji

Image Credits
Mike temple Clara Fiorito Cecilia GLICK Ines Tanoira Josefina Recchia