Getting to Know Hilo y El Mar

Watching Linda at work is like watching your favorite movie star act. With impressive precision in every cut and every stitch, her pieces radiate authenticity and uniqueness. Using linen and cotton as her main ingredients, Linda has managed to cook up a fine line of garments over the last year. Their cozy fit and elegant look make you want to never undress. So much time, energy, and sentiment is put into Linda’s work and it’s evident that her creations are pure passion. They’re a representation of her as a person. Designing clothes is part of who Linda is, it’s deep-rooted and pure. All of her pieces tell a story and it's clear they were created with an objective. Linda is a true artist, whose eye for design is truly distinctive. Hilo y El Mar represents her love for nature, the beach, and seaside living. A native from Guadalajara, Linda has even managed to sneak a hint of street style into her pieces. Her clothes are appropriate for literally every occasion. Whether you’re going to a cocktail party, a walk on the beach, or just strolling around town, Hilo y El Mar and the small collections within have got your back. 

I could’ve sat at Hilo y el Mar all day, watching Linda and her two talented colleagues, Frida and Maritza work their magic. The way they navigate themselves around the sewing machine and utensils is absolutely effortless and mesmerizing. They each pay incredibly close attention to detail and treat the clothes with such love and tenderness, as though they were friends from long ago. 

As you enter, you are greeted by a jewelry and accessory station. To the left and right are Linda’s pieces, both for Calmar and Hilo y El Mar, that hang on rope and driftwood. But as you look beyond the entrance, you catch sight of where the magic happens. The sewing machines, the designs and sketches, the templates and the materials. You feel intrigued and excited, like a child at Santa’s workshop. The quaint, minimalistic vibe of Hilo y El Mar, both Linda’s workshop and store, is one of a kind. With plants and mirrors methodically placed around the space, it is absolutely inviting and pleasant. You forget where you are in the world, and get lost in the workshop of Linda and the beauty of Hilo y El Mar. 

We sat down with Linda to understand her story and how Hilo y El Mar came to be:

J: When and how did you start making clothes?

L: I started when I was pretty young, because my mom sews. So I always took advantage of her machines, her fabrics, everything. I was always experimenting with her sewing machines, and she would get mad at me because I would break them or something. It got to the point where she was like “if you want to learn to sew, I’m going to teach you.” I was like 15 years old when she started teaching me to sew. Obviously they came out super ugly, well, because that’s how it always goes at the beginning. 

And when I was studying in middle school, I started making skirts to sell to my friends. When I started making my first designs, that was when I realized that I wanted to study fashion. And from there, my dream of making clothing was born.

J: How cool! It was something in your genes!

L: Yeah, it runs in my family. But I also always wanted to make things with fabric. I would see a piece of fabric and I always wanted to make something; backpacks, skirts, shirts, I would make clothes for my barbies. So from pretty young I was sewing by hand.

J: Amazing! It must’ve been so sick to see your friends at school wearing your clothes.

L: Super cool, actually my friends tell me “look at everything you have done! From making and selling skirts to us to now owning Hilo y El Mar!”

J: Do you think your style has changed? Or has it maintained a similar vibe from the very beginning?

L: It wasn’t until I came to Vallarta that I really saw the concept that I wanted to create. In Guadalajara, I worked with synthetic fabrics and had two brands that were collaborations with friends. I was always the one who knew how to sew and make patterns. I was always that one, while my friends liked coming up with ideas better. After a certain point, I realized the workload was not very equal, so I decided to come to Vallarta and start my sewing workshop. I settled into a style when I discovered cotton and natural fabric and decided to make clothes for beach life. I didn’t want the typical beach clothing shop, I wanted to offer a more modern style and take on things. 

J: What’s cool is that your clothes work for both beachwear and streetwear. So was it always your dream to have your own workshop and shop?

L: Definitely. When I started college, my mom told me that I had to do something to help pay for tuition. So my mom opened up a clothing repair shop for me when I was about 18 or 19 years old. It was my first business that I had. There, I had to make repairs but I was too young and couldn’t do it. That was my first try and nope, didn’t work out as I had maybe wanted. After that, a friend and I created a brand called Linda Paloma. My friends name is Paloma, and my name Linda, so Linda Paloma. It lasted for about a year. After that, I made another brand called Leon Baltazar, a mix of a friend's last name and my last name. It had a super urban vibe, it was really cool. I didn't make my own brands afterwards though I always had the dream of doing it. So I went to work in a sewing workshop. In a workshop there is a designer, there is another who is the pattern maker, who makes the pattern on paper, and a person who is the sampler, who is the person who makes the first sample of the pattern. I was the sampler. I always loved to sew, in fact when I was in college they always told me that I was a seamstress, because nobody liked to sew, only me. I really loved it, they paid me to do the sewing tasks [laughs].

When I worked in that workshop, I learned a lot about finishing, about industrial things, how patterns are handled, how to fill out technical sheets, everything that involves fashion. I worked there for like 6 months and I was saving to buy my first machines, which were these [she still has them]. When I bought them, I left the workshop I was working at and opened a small workshop in my house. At this point, I was already living with Mario in Guadalajara. They would send me dresses to make and that's when I started to experiment a little more. When we moved to Vallarta, I brought my machines with me. When we got here, I didn’t know anyone. We arrived in Valle Dorado, a far away neighborhood and I didn’t know what to do or how to make an income, so I printed some papers that said that I did repairs of clothes and stuck them on all the posts over there. A girl reached out to me, who is now a close friend of mine. She had a costume shop, so I offered to make costumes for her. I started making costumes for their children and then I ended up making about 300 costumes for a festival at Colegio Tepeyac and various schools. This is how I started doing more things here in Vallarta. 

When I was two months pregnant, we saw this place [Hilo y el Mar workshop located in downtown] and Mario told me that if I wanted to put my workshop downtown we could come to live in Vallarta. So we then moved into Vallarta from Valle Dorado. But yeah, the workshop definitely does not look how it does now, we put a lot of work into it. 

J: I imagine you had to work super hard for it to look how it does now!

L: Oh yeah, at first it only has the basics, like the table. I always had the concept in mind, from the beginning. I always dreamed it, how I wanted my workshop to be, that the garments are for sale but that you could see how they are being made. 

J: Like a restaurant with an open kitchen! How cool! What year did you come to Vallarta?

L: In 2016.

J: And in 2017 you opened the workshop? Wow, so it only took you a year to open it? 

L: Yeah, it all happened fast!

J: How does it feel to have your own workshop?

L: It has been tough, having a kid and being totally responsible for him. I don’t have my mom here, but if I want to do it, I gotta find a way to make it work on my own. I know that it all depends on me, nobody is going to tell me, “listen Linda, I’m going to help you make this.” When I accomplish something I feel super satisfied and I want to accomplish more. I want to keep growing. It’s really incredible, a fantastic feeling. 

J: You have two girls who help you here right?

L: Yeah, Frida and Maritza. Frida has been with me the longest, for two years and Maritza for one year. 

J: That must be a fantastic help. What was the feedback you received from customers when you opened the workshop?

L: At first, the workshop was for clothing repair, that’s how I decided to open it. People got mad when I made the leap to stop fixing clothes. I started making clothes in December of 2019. I had Marcel and I couldn’t give it my 100% effort at first, until one day they invited me to participate in a bazaar and I said yes, without having any clothes. I only had a bag of fabrics that have been with me forever, since college. So I decided to make due with whatever I had since I didn't have much money to invest. With that first collection, which I sold all of, I was able to raise more money to buy linen. Linen is super expensive, so I made an investment in linen and as it was being sold, I was saving and investing it. After half a year, we were able to buy two more sewing machines. So we grew a little more.

J: Wow Linda, in such little time, you got so much done!

L: I had such a yearning and craving to make clothes that I used and put out everything I had saved. I like to make little collections. I’m not a fan of creating one piece and repeating it, like a factory. I make new pieces; if I imagine something I do it and after it’s done I do new things, I have many ideas and it's fun to execute them!

J: So I’m guessing the feedback from people about your clothes has been very good. 

L: Yeah, people started to get to know the brand and come to the store. They saw a different concept. In Vallarta, a brand like this didn’t exist, so that was exciting I think for a lot of people. There are traditional stores, but Hilo Y El Mar is different.

J: What does the name Hilo y El Mar mean?

L: It’s pretty literal. It’s thread and we are close to the sea. But for me it was the name and arriving here, where it could be created, because in Guadalajara I did not. Somehow it happened here.

J: At the beginning, when it was just the repair workshop, was it named Hilo y El Mar?

L: Yep, it was always this name and this logo. The thread and two waves. I always had the concept, before I opened I already had it, when I lived in GDL, it was always my dream. The black color of the logo, the blue door...I always had it in mind. 

J: That’s fantastic that you accomplished your dream! You made it happen, girl! Talk to me a little about the other brands within Hilo and why you’re doing these projects. 

L: Calmar was born during the pandemic. I have a lot of clients who are very young and don’t necessarily have the money to buy a piece over 1000 pesos, so I decided to create a brand that is a bit more accessible and with a more informal vibe. Hilo is more formal, more elegant. Calmar is simple-er pieces for daily use. And it is aimed at a younger market, for girls.

J: How did you know that your customers needed or wanted Calmar?

L: Because I have a lot of young clients. They would come and they would look and say “how cool! I love that piece” but they couldn’t buy it. So I said, I need to do something to make it more accessible, so that people can have sustainable fashion but at a good price. 

J: Ah ok! And the other brand you had mentioned?

L: This is a new one! It’s going to be Hilo y El Mar Home, cushions, things for decoration. There will also be one a little focused on the culinary industry. Since I made the aprons for Mario, I’m going to launch an advertisement that I want to make aprons, napkins, etc… That’s our new project, so we’re going to start working on that.

J: Wow, you’re doing so much! In one year, you already have two collections and counting within Hilo y El Mar. So, where do you want to take Hilo y El Mar?

L: I would love to make a fashion brand, but not that big, but to have a bigger workshop. In fact, my dream, my dream, I am going to talk to you, is that this workshop becomes a store and to have a space that is a workshop / boutique as well. That you can visit the factory and if you want to go do a personal project, you can go talk with us. To have girls who are producing Hilo y el Mar y Calmar in a slightly larger workshop. And I have points of sale, so I would like to look for more points of sale throughout the republic, the strategic places.

J: It would also be cool to be a part of fashion shows!

L: Yes! I actually was a part of one at OPC! We have thought of doing one at Colibri bar also, but Covid happened so that’s on hold. Or something on the beach would be awesome. 

J: What’s up with weddings, do you have any interest in making clothes for weddings?

L: Yeah, that’s another point of interest.

J: If someone has an idea for a piece they’d like, do you offer customized clothes services?

L: Of course, sometimes clients will ask for something special and we make it for them. 

J: That’s awesome! Anything else you want to share with us?

L: Something that I like a lot about this space is that I share it with some girls who don't have the opportunity to rent a place like this to make sales, so we give them a space, we give them an opportunity to sell their creations. One girl makes jewelry, a brand called Yarit, and Tlalli, a girl that helps me with cutting, has a brand of earrings. Another girl who has a brand called Casa Fuh is also here. I think it’s super cool because they complement each other, you know, like I'll never make accessories. So I give them the opportunity to be here so that they have their point of sale. It is cool to share and be a community of creatives, without being jealous or anything like that.

I also want to talk about this concept of slow fashion. It’s a concept in contrast with stores like H&M and other big name companies, you know the fashion we consume more because of price or exclusivity or design. Slow fashion is different in the way that it gives an opportunity to small brands that have small collections like me that have limited pieces and are using sustainable materials like linen, cotton and natural materials. This is slow fashion. 

J: How dope! I love that concept of slow fashion. I was also thinking that your workshop has a super similar vibe as Cha. 

L: For sure, we have similar ideas and tastes. We are always asking each other for opinions, and he always helps me with that kind of thing. For example, with Calmar, he gave me the idea of making something more economical, he’s really good when it comes to coming up with concepts. And he’ll ask me about decorating, for example, all the decorations in Cha, I’ve done. 

J: Yeah you guys definitely have different styles, you make a great team!

L: Yeah, honestly it’s been really cool because we’ve been with each other since the beginning, before either of us had anything. So it’s been great watching each other grow and to chase our dreams together. 

J: Right! And to see those dreams happening, and succeeding!

L: Yes! Who would’ve thought that when we met, that we would accomplish so much together. 

J: So amazing! So just to sum up, you’re currently working on Calmar and Hilo y El Mar Home?

L: Yeah, right now we’re finishing up some pieces for Calmar and start launching promotion and publicity for Hilo y El Mar Home. I want to propose my work to restaurants around Vallarta, Guadalajara, Mexico City, cool restaurants for whom I can design their uniforms, and make a name brand out of kitchen-wear. Also! There will be a mens collection for Calmar, that will be accessible in price, and have a bunch of different looks.