Angie Vásquez was born in Venezuela and is an architect, a profession she practiced in her country and that gave her “discipline, structure and execution capacity and supervision” that she now applies to the creation of handmade leather bags in Lanzarote, hand-painted and with limited editions.
From a very young age she felt a passion for the plastic arts, which she also studied at an art academy, where she began in sculpture.
In 2018 she arrived in Spain and opened a clothing and accessories store in Madrid. "I have always liked fashion, keeping an eye on what's new, on colors, on trends," she shares.
In 2020 she had to close due to the pandemic and her sister and parents, who already lived in Lanzarote, encouraged her to move to the island, “a kinder place and with family”.
"I went to The Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and knocked on the door"
Vásquez has always been a restless and resolute person, who trusts experts. “I had many ideas, I wanted to dedicate myself to fashion, but I needed consulting”.
“I went to the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa and knocked on the door. There they grounded me, I wanted to make clothes, bags, shoes… They told me they were good ideas, but very broad and dispersed, they advised me to concentrate on something”.
“Once the product was decided, I made a bag, and I sent a photo to a guy I had met in Madrid, who has a leather goods workshop, and he invited me to his workshop, so I went to Madrid to learn”, Vásquez completes.
“I bought a sewing machine, other necessary machines and opened my workshop in the Villa thanks to the aid for crafts. I accredited myself as a craftswoman in Lanzarote and entered Lanzarote Moda”, explains the designer, who is very grateful for the institutional support.
“I am also learning to give work the value it has, the assessment of expert people is changing my mindset about the fact that it is about author design, brand creation, a product that is effectively at the level of any luxury brand”, explains Vásquez.
Precisely with the support of Lanzarote Moda, he/she has recently participated in the Madrid Fashion Week, where he/she has presented his/her handmade leather bags and belts.
"I like to have a model and customize it for each client"
Vasquez is in charge of all creative phases: “I do the part of the design, the pattern making, I cut the material, I do the whole process of elaboration and also the personalization”.
And the thing is that the bags of the Venezuelan designer based in Lanzarote are unique and of very limited edition. “The most I ever made were ten pieces, I prefer to work by order or have a model and customize it for each client for example in another color”.
Vásquez's bags, who has also just launched a line of belts, are made with leather from a tannery in Elche (Alicante), audited by the Leather Working Group (LWG), an international organization that certifies minimum environmental impact and good production practices in the leather industry.
“Once the trade has been learned, both design and production, and suppliers established, now I am focusing on communication, on having a little more visibility and making the brand known”.
Vásquez has two physical points of sale in Lanzarote, one in the Fariones hotel in Puerto del Carmen and another in the Salinas Paradisus of Costa Teguise.
To arrange an appointment at the points of sale or visit her workshop in the Villa de Teguise, the designer encourages contacting her through networks social, her page web or by phone at number 646 064 638.
