The De Venecia sisters make their own proudly local brand
If you were born and bred in a clan that has three generations of fashion retail mavens, you will most likely create your own design stamp.
That’s what two sisters—Caroline “Alin” de Venecia-Medalla and Christina “Tin” Coronel de Venecia—are doing now.
In 2016, these two millennial sisters started Spacetastic, a proudly local travel brand. “We created this from the cozy confines of our shared bedroom at home,” says Alin.
“Spacestastic makes packing cubes and other travel organizers aimed at helping travelers pack better with less stress,” says Tin.
Alin and Tin are the daughters of Cinderella marketing director Malou Coronel de Venecia and sharp businessman Roberto de Venecia, from whom they got their creative spirit and business savy. Both are Povedans who took separate paths in college.
Alin finished her BA in Business Economics at UP, after which she honed her sales and marketing skills in three multinational companies.
Tin took up her BA Behavioral Sciences, majoring in organizational and social systems development at De La Salle University. Then she worked at Cinderella as buyer and marketing exec.
This holiday season, Alin and Tin have a new collection named Wanderfleur, a collaboration with 23-year-old artist Kitty Jardenil who has worked with Uniqlo and Levi’s in recent years.
Spacestastic makes packing cubes and other travel organizers aimed at helping travelers pack better with less stress.
This capsule collection draws inspiration from nature, hence the use of the French word “fleur.” “We’re reminding travelers to stop and smell the flowers, both literally and metaphorically,” say Alin and Tin. The sisters got their creative and entrepreneurial DNA from both the Coronels and De Venecias.
Their grandmother Florencia Guanzon-Coronel founded Cinderella 70 years ago. She started making baby dresses for her daughter Therese Coronel-Santos when people started noticing the pretty outfits and encouraged Florencia to open a store for children’s dresses.
Later, Cinderella grew into a fashion store under the leadership of Therese who herself helped pioneer the concept of luxury boutiques by opening Momento.
Today, the Coronels, headed by Arthur Coronel (CEO), Malou (marketing), Joey (construction) and Richie (international brands) continue to run Cinderella and its other heritage labels like OshKosh B’gosh (founded 1895 in Wisconsin), Carter’s (founded 1865 by William Carter), and contemporary brands like Esprit which started during the restless ‘60s. Storied and timeless brands meet modern ideas in the hands of this clan.
Trust the millennials to make their elders smile as their legacy travels on with the younger generation’s creative ideas.