Four Hands Two Hearts
4 Hands, 2 Hearts - A History of Creative Freedom
By Sophie Sadler
Lagos couple, Ines Silva and Rodrigo Reis, are gaining a name for themselves with their alternative leather clothing and accessories brand. ISART was established in 2010 and by 2012 they had their first clothing line. I meet the artistic duo who claim the secret to their success is fate and loving what they do.
Ines and Rodrigo, how did you first meet?
Ines: We are a couple, partners, and adventurers. Two young Portuguese from the city of Lagos, who put into practice all the creativity we have to create clothes for wild souls.
Rodrigo: We met in Lagos and had some friends in common. And our taste for festivals and the free spirit united us and made us want to create that brand and the projects together. It was an improbable fusion because we are very different.
Ines: We bring together the best of two worlds, female & male and we have created an alternative leather clothing brand which we called ISART Design, which was an abbreviation of my original name Ines Silva Art.
What is your training?
Ines: I always drew and inherited my father's talent. I began to paint pictures, accessories and other projects, but other than that, we started completely from zero. We are 100% self-taught without any training or course. We started this adventure by playing with materials and exploring new techniques. One day we bought the first cowhide from a rug and began to create. We do not have much self-confidence, but I think we have been able to turn that to our advantage in every piece.
Rodrigo: I never had any experience with art, but I found my creativity within and have become a perfectionist. We learn from each other, and that's a partnership and the foundation of our relationship.
What is the ethos behind your brand?
Ines: Our brand could not be more spiritual and full of meaning and history, we believe that it was fate that showed us what was to happen.
Rodrigo: Yes, we believe in fate, and we believe this is a chosen project for a life, the mission to spread art around the world. Every experience in your life has a reason and we want to give a message that this is not just a brand it is a story. The story of one who continues to believe in what they do, and in the beauty of his dreams.
Where are you currently based?
Rodrigo: We currently live in Lagos but we often travel in our campervan for events and we take all the materials and tools with us. This is our nomadic version of our workshop! It is a big challenge, getting everything in such a small space and still working on the road.
Ines: We like working in the Algarve though, it is the perfect place, the sun is a source of inspiration for any artist. It's a blessing we can call Lagos, home.
How do you market your creations?
Ines: We mostly function as an online store and on social pages. We do not have a physical store, but we participate in some events such as markets, festivals, exhibitions, showrooms. Some stores in Portugal, Spain, France and Thailand have also obtained our products for resale. Most of our sales are international and our pieces are currently available in every continent apart from Africa.
Rodrigo: We started to sell our pieces in the streets of the historical centre of Lagos, we participated in some national events, and also in Europe, such as Spain, France, Croatia, Hungary. This last summer of 2018 we spent four months in Ibiza, participating in the most famous Hippie Markets on the island. It was a great experience and we felt at home because it has a energy very similar to the Algarve. We are free, and that is what inspires us.
What are your style influences?
Ines: We have a very own style, with hippie-chic and bohemian influence. ISART is the rediscovery of women, their natural forms. We are inspired by feminine power, and in all the brilliance that it brings.
We are irreverent and we put our own touch on each piece. We do not want to do things that everyone does, we want to be ourselves.
Rodrigo: Each unique and original piece is a work of art and has a soul. In our workshop is where all the magic happens with a fusion of leather, precious stones, fabrics and other elements. We explore craft techniques, and design, create moulds, cut and sew everything by hand without machines, which also gives the special essence to our work. We like to touch and feel.
What has been your biggest challenge?
This has been the design of unique items on request and in the style of each client. The most different things we have created have been for specific events such as performances in medieval fairs, festivals and belly dancing. We also have a range for children called Little Souls. We can say that fashion and style do not choose ages, because we already sell pieces for children and even mini skirts for people with 65 years old.
Rodrigo: Fashion marks every step in history. We are wearing art and revolution, and we can not make it a futile and unimportant thing.
Your Website has some beautiful photos, do you take these yourselves?
Ines: Mariana Silva is the third element in this story. She works as a photographer and also works for ISART. She shares the love and pride for this brand and organises all the ideas for photo shoots, as well as makeup and photo editing work. We use the beauty of our Algarve to our photos and videos, and we like to be completely different from what other brands do.
What is the secret to your success?
Rodrigo: We do not want to live without trying, without risking. It is a lot of work and a little madness and luck. The secret to success and doing a good job is to love what we do!
