NUESTRA HISTORIA
Rafael Adón’s provenance in botanical creations, and, bespoke leather goods can be traced to the late 1800s in the lives and works of our maternal and paternal grandmothers: Doñas Enriqueta Reyna de Delgado, and our grandmother, Enrriqueta Delgado de Bernal. The two were respected curanderas and mystical women who healed with their indigenous knowledge of botanicals. Our paternal grandmother, Nicolasa Pérez de Córdova was a self-taught seamstress who made bespoke clothing for the people of the tiny, dusty desert town of Blythe, California on the banks of the Colorado River.
My approach to design is an unfolding narrative rooted deeply in my upbringing where I learned to view that endeavoring with our hands is noble work. I bring into being—beautiful and durable heirloom quality goods—for you.
Rafael Adón expresses a sentimentality for my laboring class upbringing on agrarian ranch fields and excavation quarries along the Colorado River in the Californian Sonoran Desert. My designs are timeless artifacts inspired by a family story, a beloved ancestor, or a vintage garment.
It’s your story. Wear it well.
Today, Rafael Adón continues its work in perfumery and skincare creations. Ever the maker, in 2012 Rafael embarked on a self-teaching journey, guided by his grandmothers’ grit and spirit, and learned to become a designer and maker of bespoke leather goods. Today, his relentless quest to create now includes handcrafted apparel inspired by stories of his upbringing.