Thank you Cleo Magazine for featuring Borboleta.
Read the interview below…
We would like to invite you to buy this leather Bag Brand that’s not made from genuine leather.
Veronica, the designer, started her business with the goal of helping underprivileged children combined with the desire not to use any form of products that cause harm to animals.
“Nuwann” Veronica’s face may remind you of her sister “Nudee” Vanessa Race. The two sisters share very similar looks and ideals. Vanessa has been inspiring people with her knowledge and her beliefs, while Veronica took the direction of building business and building a brand. The career paths of the two sisters merge because they have similar ideals i.e. they both believe that one should have compassion for all aspects of our world and take very good care it in order to leave good and wonderful things for future generations.
Veronica studied business, but she also loves designs. With her passion for design she pursued her love of fashion through design courses and eventually a Master’s Degree in Florence, Italy. She then founded Borboleta : a vegan bag brand that does not use genuine leather or any kind of animal products.
Veronica started her brand with little knowledge of the trade and builds her brand through a series of trial and error. It’s been eight years since Borboleta (which means butterfly in Portuguese) has been growing and surviving all kinds of global crises. Their team and the sales are growing steadily and has been collecting loyal customers from all over the world. Once the customers start using Borboleta, they become addicted and keep coming back for more. If you have a conversation with Veronica, you will be enchanted with the many interesting things that come from within her heart and it goes beyond just business acumen.
So let us learn about the origin of her inspirations in building the Brand Borboleta and where she invests part of her proceeds.
Veronica ‘s brand is like her life, she works relentlessly for the creation of her brand , she is also very independent and does not seek financial contributions for her projects.
She is just like a butterfly that goes from flower to flower and eventually makes the whole garden bloom.
One of the significant things that turned Veronica into who she is today is the fact that she is one of the survivors of the 2004 Tsunami in Phuket.
Veronica says “I’m grateful for every day that I’m alive. I see each day as a blessing, not something to take for granted. We all should be happy and grateful so that we can feel and live a full life and in turn give the happiness to others.”
She was vacationing with her sister Vanessa in Phuket, arriving one day before the Tsunami hit. The day of the Tsunami, she decided to go rock climbing and invited her sister along. They left the beach just 15 minutes before the wave hit.
According to Veronica, the moment they came back down from the mountain to see the aftermath of the Tsunami was just surreal. She stayed longer and volunteered in the hospital for over a week.
That was when her life took a full turn. Feeling that she was blessed with a second chance and discovering that every small act of charity helps, she is determined to always give whatever she can to help out those in need for the rest of her life.
With that determination, she started a Foundation called The Ocean of Wisdom Foundation in 2007. The Foundation focuses on the education and health and nutrition for underprivileged students around Thailand. Veronica does everything she can for the Foundation and the people benefiting from it through many projects, such as doing art camps, donating softwares in English, books for classrooms and libraries, breakfast and lunch programs, and provide learning supplies for individual students. When the foundation was receiving donations, she intends that the Ocean of Wisdom has no overhead and that 100% of any donations go straight to the cause. Therefore she has been devoting her time and heart into these projects for the last 13 years. However, she eventually realized that if the foundation relies on donations, there will always be some good projects that can’t be implemented because there’s not enough money. So she was inspired to create a social business that will use part of the proceeds toward funding the foundation projects. This way she can fund projects right away without having to rely on just donations anymore.
And that’s why Borboleta was born – from a combination of her passion for designs and for charity. It’s a more sustainable way to take care of the children under her care at the foundation. With that in mind, she also wants to extend her kindness to animals by having a vegan, alternative leather for cruelty-free products that do not harm animal. She searched extensively for a cruelty-free option. After a long time she found a great alternative to genuine leather which is microfiber leather. She developed the materials and the designs together,molding them to be what Borboleta is today.
When people come across her brand, they would soon realize that its founder really gives it her best and is compassionate about the brand. This is evident when you look into Veronica’s eyes, because you will see the sparkles in there. She’s an example of someone who’s thrilled and happy about building a business that gives back and seeing how the results positively affect the world around her.
Veronica remarks “I intend that all of my team members will have happy and balanced lives, a good future, and that as Borboleta grows, so will they. She also guides her employees about the importance of savings and have programs for both her administration team and production team to save and invest every month. She’s building a bigger factory to accommodate their growing team and making sure the working environment is safe and pleasant. She is developing new designs and pushing forward with giving back to the world around her.
Borboleta has won the hearts of many not just because of the brand but because of the community that it has built over the years. This community is built from her heart and is focused on happy team members and customers and giving back to thousands of underprivileged students around Thailand. Just seeing the smile of the founder and you know she really puts her heart and soul into everything she does.
Thank you Veronica, the founder and creative director of Borboleta.
In parting , Veronica says “if you want to build something, get to it. My trick is just to start small, don’t worry that you don’t have fancy offices. Don’t spend a lot of money on things that are not necessary. Focus on marketing to make you are visible and people know the brand exists. But don’t push for sales. Give people time to get to know you and your brand. And it’s best if you know why you start this business. Your goal will be more clear and your direction more obvious.
Let the fun begin
#CleoInspiringStory
Your bags are really quality, standard, and worthy to buying. I love to see the method of making bags for your company.
Your bags are really quality, standard, and worthy to purchase. I love to see the process of making bags for your company.
Your bags are really quality, standard, and worthy to purchase. I love to see the process of making bags for your company. Your bags are really spectacular and are rivaled only by the level of service and professionalism that accompanied the transaction. Impeccable and therefore highly recommended.
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