How Jeanologia’s Keeping it All in the Family
For Ricardo Mira and Carme Santacruz, it was a match made in denim heaven.
The husband and wife both work in Jeanologia’s Brain Box department, where love sparked over denim design.
Ricardo, a textile engineer who has been a textile consultant for Jeanologia since 2006, comes from a family that’s been dedicated to textiles for generations. His grandfather had a textile factory in Alcoi, an industrial city in Spain, his father followed in the family business, and Ricardo himself recalls playing with spare parts at the factory after school.
Carme offers the more creative angle. Having studied history and fashion design and worked as a fashion history and stylist teacher, textile print designer, costume designer and denim designer, Carme has used all of that knowledge overseeing the Jeanologia garment collections since 2011. She is also currently in charge of the denim collections Jeanologia and Lenzing are partnering on.
To get a peek into this pair and what makes them tick, Carved in Blue caught up with the denim lovers for the story.
Carved in Blue: What was your very first impression of the denim business?
Carme: My first impression of the denim business was great in terms of product and creative possibilities, but it was shocking in terms of production, mainly because the workers’ conditions in some places are quite inadequate.
Ricardo: Noisy! Since my first steps into denim business was into a weaving factory called Tavex (Valencia) Spain, the noise level was insane and deafening compared to my dad’s weaving room. Later on, after understanding the behavior of denim using multiple techniques I fell in love with denim at Jeanologia. I said, “This job is for ME.” I always liked the concept of aging things.
Carved in Blue: Did you always want to go into the denim business?
Carme: It was by chance…there was an open position in Jeanologia’s satellite company and they hired me. I worked there for three years. After that period, I moved to Jeanologia as creative and trend researcher for the main collections. It was very stimulating time learning about Jeanologia’s vision of the denim industry.
Ricardo: All my family has been involved in textiles, mainly dedicated to home textiles, but stepping into the denim business was by chance. I lived close to the Tavex denim factory, (around 15 km distance). During my college studies at Alcoi, I made my final project with Tavex, a few years later I saw a job offer at Jeanologia so I asked myself, “Why not to try something new related to denim fabric?”
Carved in Blue: What is it like working with a partner in the same company?
Carme: For me it’s perfect. We do have personal connection and also, we are a good team in terms of work. I’m a designer and he is denim finishing specialist, so we are complementary, and we do work well together. When we are working together we never give up on a finish or aspect for the prefect look. We are two denim geeks at work and at home.
Ricardo: For me is great, I am really lucky to have close to me a person that understands denim in the same way as myself. Some couples discuss at dinner about politics, life, etc., we discuss about denim finishes, new studies, trials…I think it’s unique!
Carved in Blue: When did you realize you are a blueblood?
Carme: It was instant. Denim is another world. You have to prepare different stages, design the fit, study the finish, research fabrics performance, create laser patterns, convert old techniques into eco processes—it’s inspiring but also, it’s hard. You have to be absolutely convinced about denim industry, otherwise I think it’s not possible to give your best if you are not passionate about what you do.
Ricardo: Once I stepped into the Jeanologia facilities it was quick. I saw all the technologies available, the possibilities to work on denim, then I started immediately to research on books, websites, traveling, day by day I got more addicted. I must admit that traveling to different countries enriched my knowledge. For example, Japan has been one of my favorite destinations, especially Kojima, the passion you can find there about denim or indigo is indescribable.
Carved in Blue: What’s the best advice your husband/wife ever gave you?
Carme: Be confident and patient. He is my biggest critic and I love asking him to review my collections, he always has a different point of view to explore.
Ricardo: She says: “Never think it is good enough because everything can be improved, why not try one more time?”
Carved in Blue: What do you think the future looks like for the denim industry?
Carme: We are in a very exciting moment. We are witnessing a deep change in the denim industry towards a more technological and sustainable future, not only in favor of the planet but also for the people who work in this industry. As a Jeanologist, I’m proud to be part of the change.
Ricardo: Future to me looks cleaner and that means more technology will be involved. Right now, the denim industry is at an inflection point, and as a Jeanologist, I am pushing my hardest to make this happen; to me there is still a lot to do. The image of denim industry is still something that is dirty and polluted, but some important steps have taken place during the last years.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Carme & Ricardo: Passion for denim!!!