Angela Simões is a practical woman.
A few years ago, when she couldn’t find appropriate Portuguese-English children’s books to read to her little girl, she let her imagination take flight and started writing her own. So far, she has published more than a half dozen titles.
Last month, she embarked on yet another venture for similar reasons. She launched a new website – www.aleaure.com – to sell clothing and accessories whose designs are inspired by Portugal and eventually some other European countries.
“I was looking for something that I couldn’t find,” Simões told O Jornal. “I was looking for clothing items or home decor that had Portuguese inspired designs but didn’t necessarily say Portugal on it, say something on it, or have the Portuguese flag on it. I love those items too, and there’s a place for those, but I was looking for something a little more subtle. I scoured the Internet, but there wasn’t a place that sold Portuguese-inspired designs really in just one site. I couldn’t find it anywhere.”
What does Aleaure specialize on?
Specializing in trendy and comfortable clothing for women and men of all ages as well as children, the Aleaure website currently offers a wide range of options, ranging from dresses, shirts and ties to swimwear, shoes, and totes.
“Our products are designed with attention to detail and made from high-quality fabrics,” Simões said. “We believe that everyone deserves to look and feel their best, and our collection reflects that.”
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Simões said the Aleaure website had been in the works for a while, but she felt this was the right time to launch it to take advantage of people placing their orders for the summer.
“Everything that’s on our site, you can’t get anywhere else,” she said. “They’re all original designs.”
Simões: ‘This venture takes me into an entirely new field’
The website’s name is a combination of Simões’ children’s names: Ale for Alexandre and Aure for Aurelia.
“So, it has strong personal meaning,” she said. “This venture takes me into an entirely new field, as fashion and product design are not something I ever thought I’d do but have found a love and passion for.”
A graduate of the University of San Francisco, Simões spent 20 years in Sillicon Valley, where she worked in high tech public relations. A few years ago, she left corporate America to become an entrepreneur and freelance public relations consultant.
She is better known in the Portuguese communities throughout the United States for her work with the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS), the only national organization advocating for the Portuguese-American community. She is the organization’s immediate past president.
Aleaure orders are filled via dropshipping. When a customer places an order, it is then sent to a dropshipper and customers are informed the products are on the way. Items can be shipped globally.
“I was aware of dropshipping and print-on-demand websites and Shopify through some friends who run sites like Rooster Camisa and ShopPortuguese. I knew more or less how that worked,” Simões said. “So, I just started doing some research and playing around with some designs. I ended up in a focus group with some friends, asked their opinions on things, and got some really great feedback. Then, I finally settled on the summer collection to launch and here we are.”
First design inspiration is the Portuguese azulejo
The first design inspiration was the azulejo, the popular Portuguese glazed ceramic tile.
“It’s iconic and I feel beloved in our community,” she said. “There are so many different variations of it, which is one of the fun aspects of designing some of the products. There’s the traditional blue and white, but then you have the black and white and you have the pink, the green and yellow. There are so many different variations that made it fun to offer a variety of different patterns.”
Simões came up with the concept for the collection but has been working with a designer to iron out some important details.
“I’m not a fashion designer and you have to be very deliberate with the designs and the patterns that you put on clothing because you want them to look good,” she said. “You don’t want it to look like you’re wearing a tablecloth, right? I’m working with a graphic designer on that and that’s going quite well.”
Simões said she is very excited about some new items and patterns coming out this fall. After the azulejo, the andorinhas (swallows, a bird that has a special place in Portuguese culture), the Viana floral embroidery pattern, the unique Heart of Viana and the Barcelos rooster will serve as design inspirations.
“There’s a lot of different things we’re looking at to create original patterns that are Portuguese inspired but don’t shout Portuguese or Portugal right at you,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun to look at different patterns and come up with new things.”
She said new items will be introduced with the new collections.
“There will be a variety of things,” she noted. “Shoes and other types of accessories like scarves, hats, and bags. There’s lots of different kinds of shoes we can do. People have been asking for jewelry. They’ll be lots of home décor, you know, tablecloths, placemats, dishes, things like that.”
Renewed interest in Portuguese things
The huge growth in the number of U.S. tourists visiting Portugal and a renewed interest among Portuguese-Americans regarding their ethnicity and ancestral roots have resulted in an increasingly interest and demand for things Portuguese, she said.
“I think there’s a renewed interest for things Portuguese,” she said. “I feel like there’s definitely this renaissance, if you will, of exploring not only traditionally, you know what your great-grandmother did or your grandmother did, but what does modern Portugal have to offer. We’re seeing a lot of that; it’s been great.”
Upcoming Aleaure collections
In time, designs inspired by other European countries will be introduced.
“As we were looking at Portuguese inspired designs, other countries come up,” Simões said. “There are beautiful Polish designs, Italian, Spanish, and Greek. There are so many different patterns. I even found some beautiful German designs I had never really knew they existed. That will be a lot of fun to explore different countries and showcase those traditional patterns, but in a modern way. I am really looking forward to that.”
Another goal is to partner up with other vendors and offer collections from different brands online.
“I’m a big proponent of small businesses helping each other,” Simões said. “So, if there’s a way, or if my site can serve as a platform to help other businesses and bring awareness to other small businesses that are really making high quality handmade items, I would love to do that. I’m definitely hoping to do that with different vendors and different brands in the future.”
Placing an order with Aleaure
All products are made once an order is placed.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover and PayPal are accepted as forms of payment.
Those who make a purchase over $25 get free shipping. All purchases over $50 also receive a free bonus gift.
For more information, visit www.aleaure.com or contact [email protected].
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