São Paulo – Blanca Soares grew in Pelotas, Rio Grande Sul, raised by her visual artist mother and businessman father. Fifteen years ago, already living in São Paulo, she combined the artistic and entrepreneurial talents she inherited from her parents and created her semi-fine jewelry brand, Blanca Leone. At the beginning she only made pieces for the Brazilian retail, then one day she realized there was a whole world to be explored. “I thought, If I’m already established here, why can’t I be there as well?” she pondered. She organized her material, perfected her portfolio, her French, and then she submitted her registration to Bijorhca, a jewelry show held in Paris. From there, she won the world. “France brings many good things.”
This was some ten years ago, and since then she has participated in other major fairs like HOMI Milano in Italy, as well as shows in New York. To be able to export, it took many shows, many contacts, and she had to open a firm in Portugal to facilitate the paperwork. Blanca also goes to Dubai twice a year with a Brazilian delegation of jewelry manufacturers. There she exhibits her pieces in two spaces, including a chain shop.
“I love the [United Arab] Emirates! My dream is to have my own store in Dubai,” she said. “I feel like there’s a lot of room to grow there, as they still don’t invest much in fashion or handmade products like mine.” Her love for the Arab country has even inspired the Dubai collection with earrings, necklace and bracelet.
Recently, besides B2B sales, she started selling her pieces via e-commerce, too, to get more and more established with her own brand. She has also started investing in jewelry. Blanca’s company has 60 employees, most of whom are artisans. Each piece is carefully conceived, designed and then made one by one in a through work that includes gold-leafing, gem cutting, the perfect fit. Her latest collection is inspired by the Brazilian fauna, including earrings of toucans and macaws.
The incredible project of Blanca Leone
Blanca studied hotel management in Florianópolis, where she was crowned Miss in 1999. She also won the competitive Look of the Year, a selection of models know for revealing great fashion names. Back then, she was working for a company and was faced with a choice: Go to Japan to work as a model or go to Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, and train the employees of a branch of the company she was working at.
“I have very fond memories of the year I won Miss, and the fashion world opened many doors for me,” she recalled. “But I chose the second option.” After years in Ribeirão, she moved to São Paulo, where she reconnected with fashion, now as a designer.
The name of the brand is inspired by the Italian comedy The Incredible Army of Brancaleone from 1996. A wordplay with her name and leone, which is Italian for lion. When she arrived in São Paulo, she started designing and manufacturing her own pieces. Then she went around selling them in beauty salons and Christmas bazaars. “I noticed they were selling well, so I went on.”
The pandemic disrupted her projects, and like many businesspeople, Blanca felt the pinch. She caught COVID twice but nothing as serious as the impact on business. “If I survived the pandemic, I can win any battle, so I’m thankful every day for being alive and thriving.” The 45-year-old entrepreneur sees in her not-too-distant future brick-and-mortar stores in Dubai, Milan, New York and Paris, which first welcomed her.
And in Brazil? “Not for now. I prefer to invest outside and fill the world with our colors and beauty.”
Contact info:
Site Blanca Leone
Instagram profile
WhatsApp: +55 11 99140-4507
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
