How are Soré products made?
When I created Soré, I didn't sit in front of Pinterest typing "beach bag inspiration". I probably would have found hundreds of raffia bags and gotten bored.
I've always been drawn to what stands out: colors, flowers, prints, unexpected combinations that no one thinks of until someone dares to make them.
Two years ago, in Lombok, I discovered Niné-Niné. I knew nothing about their story. I simply loved their work. The materials were magnificent, the batiks incredible, the color combinations completely unapologetic. I remember thinking that I could leave with half their workshop in my suitcase.
I later learned that Nine-Nine means "woman" in Sasak and that the collective works exclusively with bendang, the fabrics traditionally worn by the women of Lombok. No new fabric. Only bendang that find a new life in the form of totes, pouches or laptop sleeves. Flowers blend with flowers, colors with colors, and no two pieces are alike. This is what I prefer because the idea that someone, somewhere, will have the exact same kit as me has always bothered me a little.
In Lombok, I also work with a young independent seamstress who delicately makes all the Soré sarongs. Here again, it was the fabrics that convinced me. She unearths incredibly modern bendang. If I didn't know they were traditional, I would probably never guess.
In Coimbatore, India, I discovered a women's cooperative that made woven bags from recycled plastic. At that time, I saw raffia everywhere. They did the complete opposite. Recycled plastic is transformed into yarn, then entirely hand-woven. Depending on the size of the models, a bag requires between four and twelve hours of work. The models already existed. I arrived with two obsessions: colors and patterns. I spent hours trying out combinations until I found exactly what I had in mind.
There's a moment I love that no one ever sees, the moment the boxes arrive.
I always open them in the same order. I take out the bags, pouches, sarongs and look at the colors before everything else: the batik mixes, the prints, the flowers, the designs and I smile every time.
So there it is, one day, I came across women who were making beautiful things and I told myself that they deserved to be seen elsewhere than in Lombok or Coimbatore.
You now know how Soré accessories are made. Want to discover the people who bring them to life?