A Note From Willy

Her creations are hand-painted delicacies with an intricate attention to detail. With the hype surrounding La Manso and the revival of early 2000s chic, it is no question that plastic really is fantastic.

Continue reading our exclusive interview below.

So you're here for a couple of weeks? How have you been enjoying your stay so far? Have you been having a good time?

Yeah, I'm really having a good time. And yes, I'm here for two weeks so I hope I keep enjoying my time.

I feel like the first time I saw your rings we were still kind of in the quarantine. How has it been since the pandemic for your business?

It's sad to say, but it really helped me as a business. I had personal moments at my place and could communicate what I was doing. I could make everything that I was thinking of doing from my place which was incredible. I think it was not just me, but it was many e-commerce companies that had this boom in the pandemic because people started buying online a lot and trusting that buying online was safe.

Where do you get your inspiration for your jewelry? I know you're delving more into clips, and necklaces, and all of that stuff.

One of my lemmas is “plastic is fantastic.” The way that I use plastic and in the way that I see plastic in jewelry is incredible. Like, I started so young and my grandma had a magazine shop that had some small jewelry. And I was the queen of jewelry in school. You know, I was like, "Yeah, I'm rich on plastic." So I've always seen its good value, you know? And if you work it well, and if you work it locally, it's a really artisanal thing to do. So I think my inspiration came with my grandma in her magazine shop that I tried to recreate here. 

So when was sort of a point for you in your business where you saw things really take off?

I was still quite small and I received an email from a guy who said he was styling Miley Cyrus. And we didn't quite believe it, but we were like, "Okay let's do it." And then two months later, he sent us an email, saying that the video was not coming out anymore, but he would keep the rings for the next occasion. I thought, "Yeah, alright, it's not going to happen." But six months later, the clip of Miley came out, and it was at that moment that I think I had hundreds of comments saying, "La Manso, La Manso, La Manso, La Manso."

How do you get your creativity in continuing to grow your business?

So I think I'm a super creative person. And when I started with the rings, I had to stop myself from wanting to create many other things. I think universal brands are so, so, so important. And even, when you try to make a product, and even with plastic that it's not the easiest material. You have to be sure of what you are doing with the quality, the packaging, the ideas, the universe of these products. So I tried to consolidate my product before going through another one.

Do you have any plans in the future for opening up more stores?

I think it's a moment for pop-ups and temporary stores. I think it makes sense at the moment where we are. I really want to conquer more cities.

If you had to pick one decade of style in fashion what would it be?

2000, 2000. 2005.

What is it about 2005?

My childhood. I think when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, I wanted to be a teenager, you know, I wanted to be older. I was seeing all these celebrities and I just wanted to be a teenager at that moment.

Where would you like to see La Manso go in the next 5, 10 years?

I would love to continue being independent in an economical way. And I would love to have my team free of my decisions. Everything that will come it's exciting. I would never say that last year, I would be here, and the year before that where I was last year. Every time it's unexpected, and it's incredible.

So what's something that keeps you going?

I think it's our own motivation. I think it's like a way to be and I live for work because I enjoy it so much. My team is my friends already and when you have a team that admires you, and they connect with you so much. We have a lot of fun and we all feel the same energy.

What else are you looking forward to doing while you're in New York?

I really want to connect with people. I think it's a super good opportunity because I made my explosion during COVID. I connected with many people through Instagram and I wouldn't have these conversations like the one we're having. I'm a person who loves meeting others.

Is there anything else you want to say?

We have a special edition for here. A special ring! It's invisible with all silver. We have a new bubble ring too.