The power of purpose.
Madrid to Bangkok connection.
"I arrived in Bangkok 3 weeks ago without knowing anyone, with very few resources (a suitcase full of Sprynks Misbehavior Club clothes) but eager to put myself to the test.
But how was I going to test myself 10,000 km away from home? Very simple, by following the method of LEINN, which for me is the best university in Spain. I was lucky enough to travel to Berlin in November 2021 to work with a group of students on a collaboration, and I was really surprised by their working method. That's why I decided to put it to the test on my own.
I set myself several goals before coming to Bangkok, and with five days to go, I can say that I have accomplished them all. But there was one that turned out to be really difficult, and therefore the most special: doing a pop-up in Bangkok. During my first week, I visited at least 30 multi-brand stores, as independent fashion is supported here in Thailand and the fashion scene is simply enviable. During my visits, I spoke to many shop assistants and shop owners, all of whom seemed delighted with my proposals and no one seemed to say no to me. That made me think that getting a pop-up would be easier than it seemed...
However, then reality set in… I wrote over 60 direct messages to different brands or stores and barely got 5 replies. It was clear that I was missing something, that something wasn’t working. The first problem I discovered was the language barrier. I realized that many of those people who said yes to me, often didn’t even understand what I was saying to them. And secondly, never ask a Thai person for directions, because they will give you the wrong directions just to avoid saying NO.
beyond grateful
I would say that the first few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions, from the excitement of witnessing a scene and culture so deeply rooted in independent fashion, to the reality check of rejection from brands and stores. It was then that, a little desperate, I contacted Nick again, one of the first contacts I had, and told him about the problem I was having in getting a pop-up done and, above all, the language barrier.
He asked me to prepare a presentation with the ideas I had in mind and that his team would get back to me within 48 hours. As expected, the answer was no; they were not going to be able to produce something in less than the 20 days I had left in Bangkok. (Collaborations take time; we ourselves have 3 lined up that we have been talking to for over a year.) BUT, despite the negative answer, they told me that they had a graphic designer intern who would love to do something with us, and that they would lend us their shop to do our pop-up.
Can, the designer, then introduced us to Patt, owner of Post Blue, another independent brand that was also interested in collaborating with us. Now came the hard part: agreeing and producing a complete collection in 5 days. Then I remembered that I was in Asia and that here things are done well and quickly.
Best clients
The last problem was who would pay for the clothes, as I didn't have enough money to make them and still live here. So, based on the free space I had in my suitcase, I organised a pre-sale of 15 T-shirts at 30 euros for our customers in Spain. They bought the entire run of this collection. A collection with a very simple goal: to become a reality and to have everything done on time. On Friday we had 50 garments produced and we picked them up hours before the pop-up started on Sunday.
And finally, the pop-up completely exceeded my expectations. Around 45 units out of the 70 available were sold. Admittedly at a lower price than usual, but I can only be grateful to my rugby club, the Southerners, and to all the people who came to support us. It's incredibly nice to have people 10,000km away willing to support you more than they do in your own country. If I had to describe how I feel, there would only be two words for it: lucky and blessed to be able to do what I really like. If I take one lesson from all this, I would without a doubt stress the importance of knowing which direction you are walking in and where you are going. If you ever have the opportunity to start from scratch anywhere, make it clear to people who you are and why you are there, as they will be the ones in charge of helping and guiding you. How beautiful and satisfying it is to live with a purpose.