We had the good fortune of connecting with Silvana Barrios and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Silvana, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
When I started 8 years ago I didn’t have anything to lose, so I never stoped, I never give up and I always believe in what I was doing. I pushed forward because I had the feeling that I was doing something different with my own identity. Today I have a different tools to measure; if I should keep going in a new product or idea or if I should give up: those are my clients, my community. I present the new ideas on the social media and see how they react, if the like it or not, but sometime even if I don’t have good feedback but I have the feeling that I should keep going, I just do it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I feel that what makes a difference in what I do is not only the design piece (the shoe) but how I communicate, that is, the shoe is a communication piece, I think I generate a reaction, a desire in a woman. It is thought by a woman for another woman, it is the delicacy that exists, it is the treatment, it is the before and after, it is the comfort, it is a complete set. Honesty, transparency. Personally I feel like a sponge, I absorb colors, smells, sounds, experiences, and then I process it and creatively unleash it in a piece that is the shoe. What I would like the world to know about me or my brand? Is a huge question, lol. That I started with nothing, I made my way with the few (financial) resources I had. That I explore, I study and that I try to inspire with what I do, but I would love that all of this could be seen through my designs.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
The beaches of San Diego, the nature in the surroundings, we would visit each Canyon. But being more specific and more playfull, is Sunday and my best friend has just one day in San Diego. I would start at La Jolla, we would grab a coffee and some pastries at Girard Gourmet to walk to the Tie Pools and La Jolla Cove, and of course visite The Open Air Market at the La Jolla Elementary. Then we would continue to Pacific Beach to take some beginner surf lessons. Of course this creates a unique hunger, a particular one :), I invite her to eat at the taco fish shop on Friars and Mission Center Rd (food truck outside of a gas station), in order to continue to Balboa Park and have some rest. After resting, we go to Little Italy to walk and have a good craft beer at Ballast Point Brewing. It has been a long day, so to close it we headed to Liberty Station to visit it and eat and enjoying the atmosphere.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It is a long list and it is a path that one travels day by day and I always have to thank someone, something or even a circumstance. But in the top of that list are definitely my parents for the tenacity and perseverance with which I have seen them and continue to see them at work, my husband for always being there and for being a great partner and my son for cheer me up every day. The community with whom I have shared my designs for years, who support me and thanks to them this path has been possible. I never felt more supported than the quarantine. Also I belong a group of female colleagues (Zapateras Argentinas), a group was formed on WhatsApp (in quarantine) and we shared everything, information, confusion, relief, it is incredible.

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Image Credits
Ph: June Handmade Shoes and Carolina Vercellone