From an early age, Soledad Martins witnessed her grandmothers weaving and her aunt running a haberdashery. These family influences sparked her interest in the weaving technique, which remained present throughout her entrepreneurial life.
Six years ago, Martins decided to forge his own path by uniting two of the greatest passions of his life: wool and entrepreneurship. So Suave Lana was born in 2017, a business supported, in principle, by social networks. A year ago, the Martins business made the leap into the physical world and opened his showroom in Montevideo.
Prior to Suave Lana, Martins ventured into other areas, such as dressand worked on marketing for several companies, developing brands and gaining experience in the business field.
Suave Lana is dedicated to the production and sale of various clothing, such as hats, blankets, cushions and women’s knitwear. Additionally, Martins began holding hand-knitting workshops during the pandemic, allowing them to connect with an audience eager to learn and share personal experiences through knitting. To date, more than a hundred people have passed through the Soft Wool workshops.
To promote workshops —a part that has become as fundamental to the business model as wool products—, Martins decided to open a physical location at El Viejo Pancho 2426, in Pocitos. This expansion was driven by the mentoring of Sembrando, a Presidency program that provided him with connections with other entrepreneurs and market agents.
soft wool
Soft Wool Workshop.
Expansion, the great challenge of entrepreneurship
Through the strategic use of social media, Suave Lana has been able to reach customers across the country, even attracting people from the interior to the capital to participate in face-to-face workshops. The departments of Florida, Lavalleja, Paysandú and Salto are some of the places of origin of the enthusiastic students of Martins.
Looking to the future, Suave Lana’s goal is to expand both nationally and internationally. Martins is considering the possibility of exporting and has been in close contact with Uruguay XXI to explore the option of becoming a country brand that represents Uruguay abroad with its products.
For those thinking of starting a business, Martins has a message clear: “It is possible, you have to have confidence in yourself and persevere. You have to set achievable goals and work to achieve them.” Although she is the driving force behind the business, she relies on a group of three weavers to meet the demands of clients.
With each loop, Suave Lana has become a success story that combines the family tradition of knitting with a passion for entrepreneurship and now looks to the world.
