A new store is up and running in Downtown Fresno, and that’s Rustica Kollection. You’ll see around the shop the owners’ love for creativity and passion for everything beautiful. And what makes Rustica unique is that all the products and crafts you’ll see in the store are carefully chosen in order to keep the shop’s principles of sustainability and fair trade. Pablo Antinao, main owner of Rustica Kollection, was very kind to give us some of his valuable time and grant our request for an interview on what the shop is all about.

Please provide a brief background about yourself and how you got into the retail business?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, Chile. I studied social work in college and while studying, also worked in high end restaurants and traveled throughout South America - both which helped spark my interest in wine, food, and culture. Upon graduating, I was working with communities as a social worker, living on a bio-dynamic farm which helped me develop a deep interest in sustainability.

In 2004 I moved to California and began to develop a deep interest in food, wine, and culture due to the tremendous diversity factor within the state. I then decided to let my interests take me to Napa Valley and Europe, where I studied wine professionally. After participating in various wine events with producers from around the world, my interest shifted towards business and the desire to create my own business. Rustica Kollection was born from the aspiration to offer something different, sustainable, and global to the Fresno community.

Could you tell our readers the story behind Rustica Kollection? The name, how it got started, and why Fresno, specifically downtown?

Rustica Kollection is a business with a message behind it. Rustica was developed to help create awareness to the community about fair-trade and sustainability practices. I had personal experiences in life that helped me reconnect with my roots and the inspiration of my son and girlfriend were key elements in creating a meaningful business.

Rustica is a business that supports the local community in Fresno, but also it helps to empower communities in other countries, due to our emphasis in fair-trade, small, and family producers. More than ninety percent of our products are handmade and one value of Rustica is quality, not quantity. The name was created based on the fact that our products are handmade, natural/organic, and produced using sustainable practices.

We decided to open in downtown Fresno because the concept of Rustica is to support communities and being Fresno residents, we want to support downtown. Another reason is because we believe in the redevelopment of downtown in order to have a strong and sustainable city.

Please tell us about your products and your focus on sustainability and fair trade.

Our products are coming locally from the U.S., (Oregon, California, Colorado, and New York) as well as internationally. We have a wide range of products from India, Kenya, South America, (Chile/Easter Island, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru) Europe, (Spain, France, and Denmark), and Madagascar.

We sell a variety of jewelry, clothing, hand bags, soaps, chocolates, coffee, teas, etc. All of the products that Rustica sells are made using sustainable practices; which focus on organic materials, hand-made production, and environmentally friendly/green practices.

What challenges do you anticipate with Rustica, particularly being in Fresno?

First, we anticipate a neglect of awareness from some community members about downtown, due to the neglect of downtown for so many years. Second, a lack of interest in our values/principles, business ethics, and products. However we are optimistic because of the variety of "like-minded" businesses and farmers markets that are prevalent in Fresno and very successful.

Any growth plans that you would like to share?

Current growth plans are to increase and expand inventory, offering an interesting and unique variety of products to customers that are difficult to find in Fresno.

Rustica Kollection is located at 1929 Fulton Street, Suite 101 in Downtown Fresno. You can also visit Rustica Kollection’s Facebook page for a glimpse of their shop, and what customers are saying about their products. Once you get inside, you’ll be amazed on how such beautiful things can come from the earth to your hands.

Donna Paulino covers most of the topic for the Fresno Interactive Network, including interviews, profiles, and articles that inspire our readers about our local community. She is the social media manager and web producer for Socient, a Fresno web marketing agency that helps non-profit and community benefit organizations thrive with social media marketing, search engine optimization, and web design.

Follow her on Twitter:  @donnapaulino

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