Meet Robin and Alex Hewes | Founders/Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robin and Alex Hewes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robin and Alex, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My husband and I started arloom in 2012 after a trip to Guatemala where we fell in love with the culture, colors and textiles. I couldn’t get enough of the beautiful handwoven textiles and Alex appreciated the detailed art and craftsmanship. I cam back from that trip with goods that I gave to my family and friends and many that I kept and used or wore myself. Everyone’s reaction was the same as ours- they loved the beauty and quality. We had no idea that we would start a business based off of this first trip, but things came together and we returned to Guatemala and started making some contacts with weavers and craftsmen and women.

Our goal once we figured out how to make connections in Guatemala became to create one-of-a-kind pieces incorporating traditional hand loomed textiles and celebrating the richness of history and unique skills that create these stunning works. We wanted to make something that will be treasured for a long time, not just a season focusing on a real appreciation for the art and history behind each unique piece. Each piece is carefully curated and we use every piece of a textile, with little to no waste, making sure we honor the textiles and the work that went into weaving them.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Starting a business is definitely not easy and not for the faint of heart! We are fortunate to be doing it together as there were/are definitely days and challenges that would have been very hard to overcome alone. We worked the business part-time for a while, with Alex taking on more while I continued with her counseling practice. After a while as arloom grew and we had children I moved full time into arloom as well. Having children and having this business has allowed us the flexibility to be available for our family but has also presented challenges. We are all hands on deck with our business and very involved in everything we do which is great, but as our lives get busier it’s sometimes hard to juggle. We have two awesome employees now that are major assets to our business as we continue to grow. We found that making the leap to hiring full time employees was the only way we could continue to grow and that was a scary leap at first but has been the best thing!

We have figured out a lot along the way and I think the biggest thing that sets us apart from others is our very organic growth. It took years of figuring out and fine tuning our brand and how we reach our customers to really get us to where we are today. We always knew we had a great product and brand, but getting that message out without huge marketing dollars or a firm to handle all of the details was a different story. We want to always convey our authentic pieces and quality that goes into every piece we create. I think we really stand out because we have so many one of a kind pieces that we are using in creative ways that you just don’t see anywhere else. These textiles have been around for centuries, and we take and honor them and keep them in use by repurposing and designing into the beauty.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We live in Wimberley, TX , a quaint little river town about 45 minutes from Austin. When our friends come out we always suggest a swim at Blue Hole, our local spring fed watering hole! From there we head to the Shady Llama for a beverage and sunset views over the Hill Country.

When we’re not at home and traveling Texas with friends we love to head out to Big Bend and Terlingua. West Texas has a unique culture all it’s own and we can’t get enough of the mountains and desert views. The best thing to do in Terlingua, sit on the porch in the old ghost town and people watch. There are pickers on the porch playing tunes, hula hopping kids running around, cold beverages and a few local dogs to hang with. For hiking, we love the Big Bend Ranch State Park because it is less traveled and often we will be the only ones out for miles and miles. You can really get out and get lost. Dinner and drinks at Lajitas is also a must. They have a great bar and kitchen and again some stunning sunset views. The skies are big out there and the sun sets across the Rio Grande. We always end the nights with some star gazing. More than a few times we seen the Milky Way and you just can’t beat that!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow- we have really had a lot of help along the way. From our families showing up and helping us at small weekend markets in the early days to packing orders alongside us when we got our online shop going. We have had so much support from our family and friends and that definitely gave us the push and help we needed to get started and keep going.

Website: arloom.com

Instagram: @arloom

Image Credits
Images by Verb House Creative