Green entrepreneurs add vibe to Old San Juan

YOUNG, GREEN AND ENTREPRENEURIAL: A new generation of young entrepreneurs is bringing a fresh vibe to old San Juan's evolving commercial scene. Their businesses espouse a green sensibility, but also are rooted in the dream of success that lays at the heart of any entrepreneurial venture, however modest it may be. Here's a look at two recent additions.


A PASSION FOR VINTAGE

Courtesy of
fashionpictures.com

Ruedo spins clothes recycling into one of its most attractive and practical manifestations: vintage, a fashion style popular among Hollywood stars and now increasingly embraced by young people, even in Puerto Rico where the
cult of the new tends to displace anything a few years old.
THIS charming store, which would have no trouble fitting in among the shops on Manhattan's trendy Bleeker Street, is the brainchild of Dácil Morales for whom "recycled pieces are cool." Her passion for clothes was inspired by her mother Evelyn Medina, whose high-end Boutique La Concha was for 20 years a staple at the eponymous hotel in Condado. The store supplied the fashionable women of San Juan in the 1980s with unique dresses that Medina purchased on buying trips to Italy and Brazil."She was always dressing people," said Morales."I am the same."
TURNS out Dácil almost was born in her mom's boutique. The pregnant Medina was at work when her water broke: unfazed, she closed up the store, tallied the books, and then headed for the hospital. Morales spent a lot of time at the boutique as a kid, and now it's her turn to string along her daughter of 11 months, Fayna. Ruedo 
(Hem, in English) is certainly a very pleasant place to be in, small but impeccably decorated with mostly refurbished cast offs, every detail contributing to a cheerful atmosphere in which to appreciate frocks and attire from decades past: the span is 50s to the early 90s. Prices fluctuate between $29 and $77, accessible enough to entice cost-conscious buyers.
HER clients, young professionals riding the latest trends, are on the lookout this season for clothes from the 80s and 90s, also favoring the 70s for its colors and prints, Morales said. She carefully handpicks every item of clothing during monthly shopping sprees to the states. "You have to look through a lot of ugly pieces," she admitted. Each item is washed, steamed and, if necessary, "altered to make it look a little more current." As an example, Morales said she might shorten a dress that appears too long or maybe fix the sleeves but in general, she added, each garment is left "as is" unless the client requests specific alterations.
CLOTHING from other eras, especially the 50s, win her admiration for their "incredible details" and the care with which they were made, one reason they hold up so well over time given appropriate storage and absence of excess humidity. "What's so cool about vintage is that it is really well made," she said, later adding that "not everything was made in China." 
RUEDO initially started out with Morales selling by appointment out of her home. The popularity of her in-house venture, propped entirely by word-of-mouth publicity, encouraged her to take the jump and set up a real base. The old San Juan store opened for business on Nov. 11, 2010.
AT an investment of some $15,000 in personal savings, Ruedo is carving a niche in a market that for the moment has few competitors (the only other vintage store Morales knows of is Ouna's Closet in Guaynabo). She is optimistic about her chances of success. The Christmas season was "super good" and the concept of vintage is catching on. Her main selling point: a vintage item is one that "nobody else is going to have."


RUEDO 201 Sol Street, corner of Cruz. Telephone: 787.466.3068
Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.


THE CLAQUE WAY TO DRESS

Claque one shoulder
blouse & skirt ensemble

Monica Cerame's ensembles, which she sells under the Claque label out of a space in a restored building, are unlike the traditional clothing you are used to seeing in most women's stores. And since some of the items are versatile enough to have more than one function, you could buy her collection of 5 items and conceivably have a full wardrobe light enough to fit neatly inside a handbag, should you decide on the spur of the moment to take off on a trip and skip the baggage fee.
The clothing is as minimal as you can get. No buttons, no zippers, no sizes, no precious add ons. Each item is unique, made from a single swatch of fabric. No two items are the same fabric design; instead, a farrago of stripes, flowers, prints, or just plain colors. Fabrics are primarily light or medium-weight cottons, sometimes spandex, cool alternatives for a hot climate. Depending on the weight of the fabric, the material may either fall fluidly over the body or hold its shape on the wearer.
"I want people to explore and dare to do things differently," says the attractive 26-year-old with a background in theater, which she studied at the venerable University of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cerame currently moonlights her designs while working as a theater costume designer. Her latest assignment is creating the wardrobe for a production of Teatro Puertorriqueño slated for May.
The easy going and adventurous Cerame espouses a simple fashion philosophy: less is more. One item, multiple ways of wearing it. Her collection includes a stole, a poncho, a one shoulder blouse, a skirt/dress, and a dress/pants. The color palette ranges from muted to vivid colors.
The pieces evoke the Rubik cube; cerebral, yet loads of fun. Take the dress/pants combo: tie the fabric this way and you get a dress, or that way and you get a pair of pants. An asymmetric line skirt in the style of a pareo carries its own belt made of contrasting color fabric for use in cinching it as a skirt or wrapping it up as a dress. The one sleeve blouse is loose and sexy. The stole doubles as wrap, belt, or accessory.
There is a touch of theater in her clothes; they invite the imagination to play. Not for nothing Cerame chose to name her label Claque, after a group of people hired to applaud a performance. You will applaud too when you see these clothes priced between $20 and $40 made by a young woman who brushes off conspicuous consumption in favor of a simple, imaginative fashion style. As Cerame sees it, "For me, life is a theater." 
CLAQUE 208 Luna Street, corner San Justo. Thurdays only, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. 

Photograph by Denise Blasor

Be alone, and feel the trees silently growing.

Be alone, and see the moonlight, white and busy and silent.

Be quite alone, and feel the living cosmos softly rocking.... D.H. Lawrence

 

A SIMPLE TIP Forget tape when wrapping up gifts. Instead, use a ribbon to tie the wrapping paper or if you prefer, secure paper at both ends by using those small, rectangular white strips found along the margins of stamp sheets.
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