The craftsmanship that sustains us: our history between the Palace and Retiro

There are professions that aren't chosen with the head, but with the heart. Craftsmanship is one of them. It's unhurried, it doesn't take shortcuts, and it demands a dedication that only those who love it can understand. For us—Katy and I—that slow, honest, and everyday rhythm isn't a work style: it's our way of life.

Crafts: where life and hands meet

When we say our jewelry is handcrafted, we're not just talking about a pretty label for the website. We're talking about mornings filled with the smell of freshly sanded metal, fingers stained with resin, ideas that strike mid-day, and pieces that, even when we make them repeatedly, never turn out exactly the same.

We talked about the two of us chatting while we worked, about the sounds of the workshop, about the small joys and also about the times when a piece doesn't turn out right and we have to start over.
Craftsmanship requires a lot of patience, but it also requires a lot of faith: faith that what we do has meaning.

The value of local businesses: people supporting people

Sometimes people talk about local businesses as if they were an abstract concept, but for us they have names, faces, and stories.
It's the neighbor who just stops by to say hello, the tourist who comes back because he couldn't stop thinking about those earrings, the boy who arrives nervously to choose a gift and leaves smiling, the family who already feels the store is their own place.

Local commerce is just that: life intersecting with our own .
Choosing it means betting on real projects, on real hands, on dreams that exist thanks to the neighborhood.

Palace: where it all began

Our first shop is in Palacio , a neighborhood that feels like an old-world embrace. The narrow streets, the historic facades, the mix of long-time residents and curious tourists… everything has a special energy.

At Palacio, we learned the importance of closeness. The neighbors opened their doors to us as if we were part of their family from day one. They supported us even before they knew us well. In that small space where Aktual began, we understood that dreams are built with perseverance and with good people around you.

Palacio is root. It is beginning. It is gratitude.

Retreat: the dream that takes a breath and expands

Our second store, at Calle Menorca 20, in Retiro , opened when we felt our work needed a place with more light and space. Retiro is a friendly, elegant, and vibrant neighborhood; it has that perfect balance between tranquility and dynamism that is incredibly inspiring.

Here we see people coming in from the park, neighbors strolling through the area, young families, and customers who discover the shop by chance and fall in love with the handcrafted items. Retiro has shown us that our project can grow without losing its essence.

Retreat is expansion. It is freshness. It is hope.

Two sisters, one pulse

What motivates us is not having more, but living from what we love.
We are two sisters who learned that crafts can be a way to heal, to create beauty from lived experience, to transform what is difficult into something that makes other people smile.

Our dream is simple and profound:
that whoever enters our stores feels good, feels seen, feels at home…
and find a jewel that speaks a little bit about us and a little bit about its history.

Choosing handcrafted goods: a gesture that changes lives

Every time someone buys something in our stores, they don't just take home a piece of jewelry.
It also sustains a family project, two hands that create with intention, two women who have opted for a craft that still endures thanks to people who value authenticity.

And that gesture, however small it may seem, keeps all of this alive.