We were lucky to catch up with Rafael Córdova recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rafael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I began making soap and skincare products in 1999, and my foray into making leather goods began in 2013. I taught myself the soap-making process drawing on my family’s knowledge of plants for healing. Both the soap and leather goods making took me into creative spaces of which I knew nothing. In 1999 there was no YouTube. I learned the history of soap-making and formulated our recipe by reading books. In 2013, YouTube became one of my go-to’s to learn the macro to micro facets of designing and making leather goods.

I’m not sure if I could have sped up the process. I learn by doing and making mistakes. When I look back at some of my earliest works I both cringe and smile. I’m aghast that then, I brought those unrefined products to the public, and they bought them! And that’s what’s satisfying, being so in love with the process of creating that I want to put it out there in the world, saying, “look what I made!” The blessing is embracing that naïveté in the moment, when I don’t even recognize I’m naïve, and putting my work out there. That’s how I grow and get better.

With any new endeavor the obstacle for me is remembering I don’t know what I don’t know, and to trust the making and discovery process. As a small business owner, of course we all experience the hustle we got to engage in a start-up world. I’ve also learned that over time, Rafael Adón has stayed true to its founding spirit: to delight in the making process.

Rafael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Rafael Adón’s provenance in botanical creations, and, bespoke leather goods can be traced to the late 1800s in the lives and works of my maternal and paternal grandmothers: Doñas Enriqueta Reyna de Delgado, and our grandmother, Enrriqueta Delgado de Bernal. The two were respected curanderas and mystical women who healed with their indigenous knowledge of botanicals. My paternal grandmother, Nicolasa Pérez de Córdova was a self-taught seamstress who made bespoke clothing for the people of the tiny, dusty desert town of Blythe, California on the banks of the Colorado River.

In 1999, I drew inspiration from these strong and spirited women, to found Rafael Adón on an 800 acre avocado ranch, Rancho La Paloma in Santa Barbara, California. I was driven by an impulse to make. Guided by the healing and creative compass of my ancestors, I took direction from nature and indigenous Chumash knowledge of ethnobotany to create my first soaps made with indigenous botanicals. I also took direction from Santa Barbara’s Rancho culture to craft soaps made with cultivated botanicals.

Today, Rafael Adón continues its work in perfumery and skincare creations. Ever the maker, in 2012 I embarked on a self-teaching journey, guided by his grandmothers’ grit and spirit, and learned to become a designer and maker of bespoke handbags and leather goods.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I fall in love all over again with what I do each time I work with a new client. When I first began, I had a sense but didn’t have the language at the time, to articulate that I had embarked on a journey of creating experiences and not solely transactions with clients. This ethos is what drives our bag-making approach called Story & Stitch.

There’s only one you, so shouldn’t your bag measure up to that? At Rafael Adón it starts with your story and begins with our stitch. Story & Stitch is our human-centered methodology at the heart of our bespoke services. It is part story-telling methodology and part art and design. Story & Stitch guides us to uncover your lifestyle characteristics and the qualities you desire in a handbag and then build it. We then design and build a luxury bag that’s made-to-measure just for you.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2006, I moved to St. Louis, MO to become a professor of education. I had all but given up my creative work to focus on becoming the best professor. I met my future husband, and as we got to know each other he learned about my creative outlet. He encouraged me to continue the creative soap-making as a side-gig, and it grew into a company that he and I run together. I’m glad I didn’t give up, and my path shows a resilient spirit to make and share my creations with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: RafaelAdon.com
• Instagram: rafaeladonatelier

Image Credits
Jeff Brierly Ian King