Philosophy
Mientras began from trying to find an in-between.
In-between outdoors and indoors, home and away, individual and communal, at a time when so much of society is a web of extremes, Mientras is something else, neither one nor the other, sometimes both.
The mission is simple, Mientras exists to help you feel more at home in the world, wherever that might be.
Origin
From a patio in Queens to a factory in Tsubame-Sanjo to a balcony in Lisbon, Mientras began and evolved as I struggled to find products for the life I wanted to live. Products that are as beautiful as they are functional; products that could both resist the wear and tear of a nomadic life but also offer a sense of home no matter where they might be.
So... I set out to make them myself. Drawing on my backround, not as a designer, but rather as a trained social scientist and fine art curator, I look for solutions that embrace customization and modularity, care and circularity, ease of use and adaptability, and of course, elegant functionality in the hope that these items will live with you for a long time, becoming as much a part of your life as they have been mine.
While I rely on my trusted manufacturing partners for production, Mientras is, at the moment, a one person brand. It’s literally just me designing and managing everything. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Here’s me testing some early prototypes:
-Julian>