In the beginning, there was Karlo. The Carlos Campos’s Fall 2009 show was the proverbial rib from which Lalaboy PR sprouted. Of course we could go back in time and pinpoint a different day, time, for our origin story. We have often theorized that somehow our parents did an excellent job in guiding us towards different paths (social sciences/writing and architecture) that would later converge into what is today Lalaboy PR.
The truth is that origin stories are never linear, and there are many factors that contributed to the making of our brand, as we are sure happened with yours and we know for a fact happened with our clients’. The key to crafting a good origin story is to locate those moments that capture the straggling elements. The Karlo Karlo collaboration is one of those stories. When Karlo Karlo approached us to represent him backstage for Carlos Campos, we were a bicoastal team. I lived in Pittsburgh and was finishing my Ph.D. in all things Latin America (formally Latin American History), and Maria lived in our beloved city of New York working as an architect and moonlighting as a PR lady for friends and family. See why this story is key? This was us in our old shells—Social Scientist and Architect—coming together in the world of fashion and beauty.
What else made this story so important to share as our origin story? The cast of characters, of course. There was the incredibly talented designer Carlos Campos with whom we’ve collaborated on several occasions, and the lovely Raquel Berrios of Buscabulla, one of the badassest most stylish musicians we are proud to call our friend, and Javier Romero who we’ve represented on several occasions as well. And if this wasn’t enough, this was the first time we met Megan McIntyre then from Daily Makeover and now from Refinery29, a super blog that has been incredibly amazing to our indie brands. We could go on making connections. The point is that many of the actors we would encounter again and again in the process of building our brand were there.
While all of these elements may not make it into discussions or interviews, the layers imbedded in the moment give it power in our mind. This is evident in the way we communicate our story. You may be saying, yes, of course, but you could not have known then that you know now. Of course, but while hindsight may be 20/20, it is absolutely necessary when crafting an origin story that speaks to you and that you can speak to with others.
Catch Karlo’s own review of that particular day here.