"If we have to do it, it's with purpose."
Betty Martínez and Paulina Anchía never imagined that a shared love of making handbags would lead them to create a handbag and accessories brand in Puerto Rico.
Paulina, nicknamed "Amina" by her brother, has been sewing since she was 6, after receiving her first sewing machine from her grandmother.
From then on she made bags and clothing that she sold to friends and family, donating the proceeds to children in need. It was during a vulnerable moment that mother and daughter looked up at the stars together and decided to pursue a new dream.
"And that's when Paulina says to me, Mom, those rays you see are falling stars and you don't want to see them. Why don't we make the handbags?" Martínez recalls in an interview with Platea.
Those stars would become the driving force behind Beamina, a luxury brand of unique, contemporary, high-quality bags and accessories, in 2018.
"Beamina is a brand with purpose. It is Puerto Rico's first luxury brand, and we have to say that with great pride," Martínez explains.
"It goes beyond an object, a fashion brand. It is a brand that wants to empower, a brand that helps and that has empathy for others, to be able to support and help."
Through Beamina, a hybrid of Paulina's nickname, which means "warrior," and the first two letters of "Beatriz," which also represents the verb "to be" in English, mother and daughter seek to empower women around the world, something they do by supporting programs such as Glasswing Foundation.
Today, inspired to follow their dreams and take risks, they continue with that original purpose from their first physical store in Liberty Square, at San Patricio Plaza.
A brand that also strengthens bonds
Creating Beamina has been a milestone in the story of Beatriz and Paulina.
"Through all of this process and a lot of work, I think we have grown closer, not just as mother and daughter but as best friends. We have always been just as close," says Anchía.
Martínez agrees, adding that the experience has led her to be "a little more open minded as a mother, to have a close relationship with my daughter and for her to be able to communicate with me."
She adds that "that is also part of what we try to express through the brand. Being warriors, about life, about dreams, about not setting limits for ourselves. And our human side, through the brand, is also being able to show you that dreams can come true once you set them, once you have commitment, once you have will and you fight for it."
For both of them, the vision of what they want to achieve with Beamina is clear. "It is a brand that from the beginning we saw as one for the world. So, with great pride, from Puerto Rico to the world," Martínez concludes.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
