There's no backrest, but none is needed: the horizon sustains the conversation. The sun falls obliquely on the boats, the gentle sway of the water sets a soft rhythm, its lullaby accompanying us. Aida and Pilar, mother and daughter, sit together facing the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú, on the Garraf Coast, near Barcelona, ​​overlooking the Mediterranean.

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This is no ordinary place. Here, the sea is not just a landscape: it's living memory. It's work, it's origin. It's also a way of creating with their hands what others can barely imagine.

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Aida answers in her own voice, but Pilar's gaze shines through her words. And in both of them, the invisible presence of their grandfather, the fisherman from Cambrils, who unknowingly left a legacy that still inspires.

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We chat without haste, as one does when life—and the tide—teaches us to wait for the right moment. Like the breeze that accompanies us, and that does not manage to carry away the words spoken: they remain, like the pieces they create, unique and full of meaning.

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How did Alú Alú Bags come about? Could you tell us the story behind that mother-daughter bond and your connection to the sea?

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Aida: I had a very special bond with my Grandma Trini. She was the one who taught me to sew, knit, and to love the world of handmade crafts. She spent her last months at our house, and my mother brought her most treasured things so she would feel at home: her fabrics, her yarns, and, of course, her rocking chair. My grandmother loved bags, so when she passed away, I wanted to pay tribute to her and decided to create a brand with her name: Inirt Atelier (Inirt is Trini spelled backward), and the logo was her rocking chair. But after a while, I felt the need to let go of that grieving process and move on, to take the lead, as she would have wanted. So I played with the letters of my last name, Rigual, and from those last letters, ual, Alú emerged. And since there are two of us on board this ship, my mother and I, well, Alú Alú was born.

My mother has always supported me, from the day I decided to start my own business. She's an excellent hand seamstress, so I have the best seamstress in the world by my side. Between the two of us, we do everything, absolutely everything, and we make a great team.

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Pilar: I come from a family of fishermen; my father was a fisherman, and my mother mended the fishing nets on his boat. And Aida studied Marine Science and Technology at university. The sea is part of our lives in every sense. Working with my daughter has been the most enriching thing that has ever happened to me. Seeing her develop in a business world where she has had to make decisions has made her grow up very quickly.

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What role does the maritime environment, and perhaps the Costa Brava (the Mediterranean?), play in the design and character of your pieces?

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Aida: I spent my entire childhood at the port. Every day I went down with my grandparents, climbed onto the boats, touched the fish, and imagined an underwater world full of color and fantasy. That's why I studied Marine Science. The sea is my source of inspiration. There's a species called nudibranchs that fascinates me; they're small creatures with unique shapes and vibrant colors. When you see them, you can't look away because they completely capture your attention. And that's precisely what I wanted to achieve with our designs.

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On your Instagram, you mention the repurposing of fishing nets. How did that idea come about, and what challenges did you face working with such unconventional materials?

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Aida: I grew up surrounded by fishing nets. My grandmother always had a thousand ideas for making useful things with them. In fact, all the curtains in our house are made of fishing nets. My grandparents had a lot of nets, so we repurposed them and started using them to make our bags, under the motto "from the sea to the catwalk." Some fishermen also gave us their discarded nets, the ones they no longer used for fishing.

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Pilar: Sewing a fishing net is no easy task. Since it's repurposed, it has to be washed very well, and any embedded debris has to be meticulously removed by hand. Any tears or rips have to be mended. Then it has to be attached to the fabric by hand-sewing it, mesh by mesh, because a machine-sewn net would quickly come undone between the seams. So, it's many hours dedicated to a completely handcrafted process.

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What other haute couture innovations or fabrics are you passionate about experimenting with, and why?

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Aida: We've innovated by using a technical material like 3D neoprene between the different layers of fabric we use, thus providing structure from within while maintaining the lightness and movement of the design. This allows us to work with atypical fabrics for a handbag—a functional handbag, of course—which is what we wanted to achieve: to create a fully functional haute couture handbag with imaginative fabrics.

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How is the work divided between mother and daughter in the process: design, prototyping, and hand-production?

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Aida: I'm the creative one. I love design, creating prototypes, choosing fabrics, and although I also sew, my mother sews much better than I do. Hand-sewing, which is our hallmark, is her forte. Plus, she's my public relations manager!

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What have been the biggest lessons or challenges you've overcome since the beginning?

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Aida: I became self-employed at 19, full of dreams and aspirations. And little by little, I discovered the harsh reality. I was completely unfamiliar with that world, the economic and tax pressures. Even working didn't provide enough to pay my taxes. Plus, I started out doing markets and pop-ups; some of them were failures. It was very hard for me to show my work and see the sometimes cruel reactions of people who don't value craftsmanship or can't imagine the enormous effort it takes to start a business with your own handmade designs. You can't be competitive. It's impossible to compete with a fast-fashion giant. It was very tough. My parents supported me in everything, financially too. They came everywhere with me, suffered alongside me setting up stands, trying to sell, and they always motivated me to persevere. I was juggling my university studies with working at the company, and there were times I wanted to give up, but my mother was always there, telling me we would make it, that something born from love for my grandmother had to work out. We just had to persevere.

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Your commitment to reclaimed materials and artisanal production seems to align design with responsibility. How do you communicate this value to your community and clientele?

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Pilar: We've always been very transparent about what we do and how we do it. Our story, our origins, our values. We don't use animal skin or leather. We produce on a small scale, slowly, by hand, to offer exclusive pieces. We're a brand that's committed to social responsibility. You don't have to be a big brand; small brands can do it too, with small gestures. In the way we buy, produce, use materials, and package, we try to be as sustainable as possible. In addition, every year we collaborate with organizations dedicated to researching various diseases. Being a socially responsible brand is also part of our commitment. It's not necessary to donate a large sum of money—because in our case, that wouldn't be possible—but you can collaborate by donating designs for a charity auction. And that's what we do. We've been doing since we started.

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Which of your collections has been your most cherished so far? Why?

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Aida: Without a doubt, the fishing net collection. Because of its emotional connection, the link to our heritage, our essence, our origins—never forgetting where we come from. When I see a fishing net bag on a runway, carried by a model dressed in a glamorous outfit, I'm actually seeing my childhood at the port with my grandparents. And that's something very beautiful. Furthermore, ghost fishing nets, abandoned at sea, cause immense damage to the ocean, to the species that become dangerously trapped in them, and to the marine ecosystem, since they take many years to decompose. That's why it's important to do our part.

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What are your plans for Alú Alú: new lines, collaborations, other reclaimed materials?

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Aida: We always have a thousand ideas in mind, but we're taking it one step at a time. Growing little by little is part of our essence, and we don't want to lose that. I'm working on an idea with a recycled material, but I can't say more; my mother is very superstitious and won't let me say anything while it's in development.

Pilar: That's true. My grandfather was a very superstitious fisherman, an old sea dog who went out to fish without technology or resources and had to interpret the signs and rely on his intuition. And I incorporated that part of him almost without realizing it. But it's there, and it surfaces often. That bond with my paternal grandfather is like Aida's bond with her grandmother. They're legacies we carry within us.

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If you could expand the brand to another product or medium besides handbags, what would you like to explore?

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Aida: We've expanded by designing bracelets with the same fabrics as our handbags, and we've also explored something new: bracelets woven with yarn. There, too, I drew on my heritage: weaving knot by knot, just like my grandmother mended fishing nets, knot by knot. The truth is, weaving connects me to her in a very special way.

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How do you both experience, internally, the creative and operational leadership of this project?

Aida: My mother and I have a very strong connection and a great relationship, but it's true that at first, we struggled to manage the transition from the familial mother-daughter role to the professional one, since we had to reverse that "authority" dynamic. I was 19 years old, and it was a great learning experience for both of us.

Pilar: We haven't always agreed, and that's where the role reversal occurred, since Aida has always had a strong personality and very clear ideas from a young age, and I found it difficult to let her make decisions when I disagreed. Fortunately, this project has helped us both grow through the love we have for each other, and it has taught us to respect each other despite our differences. We are two different generations, and we have had to combine tradition and innovation and keep them in balance.

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What motivates them each morning to keep weaving dreams with fishing nets?

Aida: To prove to myself that it is possible. That dreams do come true.

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Pilar: Our legacy motivates me. It's that simple and that complex at the same time.

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