Lola from Hilokune

When and how did the idea for Hilokune come about?

Hilokune Logaro Studio emerged from the idea of creating a space that encompasses my entire world. On one hand, a yarn shop featuring selected yarns based on quality, sustainability, and design criteria. On the other hand, the LOGARO textile studio, the soul of Hilokune, from which everything else draws inspiration, and which also houses a small school where I teach and share all the knowledge and experiences I've gained over the years.

What do you like most about being a designer?

The infinite combinations that arise from mixing textile techniques. Combining materials and observing their mechanical response to different ways of working with them. Some of my colleagues in the industry refer to me as the "queen of techniques" because I fluently handle many textile techniques, thereby creating new fabrics.

Mixing is what I enjoy most about designing and seeing people's reactions. I also love it when they knit them and gather to do it together; you don't just design, you also create connections.

What inspires you when creating new products?

The sources of inspiration are diverse, ranging from external suggestions to what the materials themselves suggest. The processes are very different in each case. I am motivated by the surprise one of my ideas can cause in the public, and especially by versatile pieces that serve more than one purpose.

What is your next challenge?

My life is a constant challenge! My imagination sets different routes, experimenting with materials and techniques. Seeing their different effects on fabrics is my utmost goal, in addition to constantly learning and also transmitting all my knowledge to as many people as possible so that it endures over time.

An anecdote?

In 2013, while participating in one of the most important craft fairs in this country, a delegation of shop managers from textile museums in different countries appeared, and I had the great fortune to win them over with several of my products. These products became part of their items for sale in the textile art museums of Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Virginia, and New York. When I finished the transaction with these delegations, I burst into tears. Tears of absolute joy at seeing how people who didn't know me, nor my background, valued my talent so much that they wanted to have it in their stores.