The way I came up with the name for the brand is by taking an old road back home. I had been living in Europe and hadn’t visited home in almost a decade. My mother had finally convinced me to visit home. We took a trip to the family ranch which takes hours to drive in Southern Arizona.
I had traveled back to a place I had forgotten about, after spending my early 20s trying to discover myself, I learned that I already knew who I was. I had spent time listening to others what I should call my brand and after seeing my grandmother’s old hand crank sewing machine in her bedroom I remembered that she had given me the name I was looking for. Her name was Ricarda and she named me Ricardo.
The emblem I had found while searching for my first tattoo while living in Texas. This was a time before the internet had a bank of a library of images to choose from. I ran into the image and decided not to use it. I had spent a couple of years with it just being tucked away. One day after returning to the states from Europe and in design school, while going through a pile of old documents a copy of the original image fell out. I had completely forgotten about it and I then found a connection with a graphic designer in Hawaii that turned that tattoo into what you see today.
The emblem represents the connection between my grandmother and I. The strength and the freedom, The femineity and masculinity, the past and the present. A mirror of both worlds that came to creation.
I spent a decade in the military and deployed to multiple locations around the Middle East, Asia, and South America. I had spent time in operations and at times, a gunner on helicopters. Originally studying international relations, upon returning to the states I decided not to enter law school and instead attended fashion design school.
I spent another three years studying technical design, textile technology, and much more. I was phoned by the Four Seasons after posting my resume online and turning down an internship in New York.
A complete opposite of what normal fashion students and aspiring designer would do. I spent 8 years working in luxury buying, procurement, and customer service. An experience I wouldn’t change or regret as it emerge me into brand building, sustainability, customer care, and gave me a wealth of knowledge that training and time can only teach. I built my brand step by step and with personal funding. My goal has always been to create a time lasting brand that is a representation of who I am and experience.
