Beforevasin’s Valencia | Azahara, the hippy girl who found the success in Valencia between the spiritual and the earthly
Azahara Santoro did not have a conventional childhood. Her parents were two very young hippies when they met in Granada, the Italian and she Valencian. They fell in love selling macramé and crossed walking the Almeria desert with the idea of settlement in the Canary Islands. It was in Barbate … Where his mother learned that she was pregnant, so they left the group with which they were traveling and decided to return to Granada where Azahara was born. «We lived in a house in the countryside with another family, in a short time my two brothers were born. My parents were temporary of the olive and we did not start going to school until the age of six. The classes were given by a nun in a church where the banks withdrew and we were together children of all ages, ”recalls Azahara with love.
When he was about to fulfill all ten the family was installed at his maternal grandmother Carmen in Catarroja. Azahara had a hard time adapting to the school there, were difficult years until he studied artistic baccalaureate in chair and, after studying a year of Fine Arts, enrolled in the EASD of Valencia to form as a jewelry. «The fourth year enrolled in Florence and soon I saw that it was not my place, there they experienced a lot with the materials I already like the narrative, investigating in the stories. My work was recognized and I came to expose in Barcelona, but it was not what I was looking for at that time, ”he explains.
He returned to Valencia and, after spending four years working in the fashion sector, he realized that it was time to create his own project that was aligned with his vision. «I did not understand the voracity of the market, I thought it was possible to do things differently. I made “the artist’s path”, which is a course to develop creativity, that changed everything. I am very curious, I wanted to travel and bring unique things from other places, offer rituals and workshops, ”he says. He found the perfect place on Palomar Street, just a few meters from his house in the Barrio del Carmen. He traveled to Los Angeles to seek inspiration and there he saw everything he needed. On the return plane he found the name of the store watching the movie “Come, Reza, Love.” «The protagonist uses the word beforevasin’s to define someone who lives between the forest and the people, between spirituality and the earthly. It seemed to me that fit the project. I have always been interested in rites as threshold and transition, ”he explains.
In its space it sells jewels, oils, books, singular objects, writing material, cosmetics, ceramics and candles that elaborates in an artisanal way and that already distributes in stores in the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany or Amsterdam. It also organizes rituals, offers astrological consultations, tarot reading and jewelry and creativity courses. «It is a particular business model that has already turned five years. I have had offers to open elsewhere, options to grow faster, but I want to protect its essence and grow slowly. I imagine more as the Lord who sells Harry Potter’s wands ».
The new spirituality
«This sector has left behind the herbs and hippy profile, now the exclusive is valued and the client profile is of an average and high purchasing level that knows how to appreciate quality and seeks spirituality, but without dogma. In Spain there are no initiatives such as this, however in the United States or in the Nordic countries they are very common. There is more and more need to make sense of things ».
(tagstotranslate) Azahara
Source link
