Hola Hola to whoever is out there reading this!

Welcome to Faux Furs & Tourist Shirts – “Summer 2017: Ibiza edition”.

As you can tell I’m still pretty new at this! And you probably wonder who I am or where I’m from etc etc, don’t worry we’ll get to that at some point. I just wanted to let you know that I’m super thrilled to have you here and to share my experiences on this magical island.

Last Wednesday I was back at Punta Arabi’s original Hippy Market selling my bikini’s in the craftman’s street. This was the second time for me ever, to actually put my designs out for sale. I guess that somehow I have been postponing this moment for a while now… I intentionally came to Ibiza with a fulltime job at the airport, and wanted to sell my bikini’s on my days off. But I quickly found out that my work was draining all my energy and creativity and that I had just saved enough money to pay the rent here and live off chickpeas and water until the end of the season. So I took a risk and quit my job to focus 100% on my designs.

One month after quitting my job
My collection is somewhat done, I think it’ll never really feel done to me. But it got me into Punta Arabi’s original Hippy Market – which is the biggest hippy market of Ibiza. This actually surprisingly enough, is very difficult and you have to do a kind of interview. I obviously did not know that there is a waiting list, and then on top of that August may not be the best month to start applying. I heard from so many people around me that I was too late and that I didn’t stand a chance. That my bikini’s are not realistic enough. The good thing is that I had nothing left to loose and so I grabbed the phone and made an appointment. Let me give you one tip to success: Don’t ever email and wait for an answer!!! Send the email and call them within 5 minutes asking what they think. People don’t say no that easy over the phone as by email + it shows that you got balls!
They were super excited and the next day I could start selling! Shields of the Lagoon was finally getting out there!! I got a spot at the tennis court which is basically where everybody starts, and from there on you can grow to one of the other streets. When I got home I talked to a friend of mine, Andrew a fashion designer from Australia who built himself a treehouse with the most amazing view over the beach. He lit up his joint and told me that he had been on the waiting list for 5 years now, but that he didn’t have an N.I.E. number, so he couldn’t legally apply.  He had been selling on the market before – when it was way more hippy, and thus less organized then now.
He told me about the craftman’s street, which is where artists and designer make their products while selling them, showing the authenticity of their designs. Andrew told me of this tiny spot in the corner next to the live music which was too small for regular stalls. I went to the head office on Tuesday and first asked for a spot in the street. The director started laughing and said that he appreciated my willingness, but that he simply couldn’t give me a spot because of the people that have been on the waiting list for years. I told him I’d just need a tiny spot for a table and that I had seen the perfect space for me.

He said yes.