Goiaba, the brand that makes earrings named after cities

Irina Coelho created the irreverent Goiaba in full confinement. A brand inspired by the 1980s. Author pieces, limited editions.

The idea had been in the drawer for some time. In June last year, Irina Coelho, interior designer, decided to give it light and life. And she plunged into the market with her own brand of light and colorful earrings with patterns inspired by visual memories, by images she keeps in her head. "We are a bit timeless, irreverent, we make signature desing pieces. It is a retro brand, full of colour, of freshness.” Guava is a brand of women's accessories with patterns that refer to the exuberance of the 1980s.

Each collection by season has six sub-collections named after cities in the world. Some are warmer, others are cooler, depending on the season. "Goiaba will complete its first year in June, it was summer then, it was hot and, through colour, we associated each pattern with a city. It worked," she recalls. There were Havana and Rio de Janeiro, the collection sold out, the autumn-winter collection still has some pieces distributed by Vienna, Copenhagen, Berlin, Oslo, Prague, Madrid. The spring-summer collection has just come out with 48 earrings lookinh towards hot cities in Asia, such as Beijing, Hanoi, El Nido. "Warm cities, full of life and colour. ” Colours for various tastes, from the classic navy blue, red and white, to the boldest ones like orange, lilac, mint.

The earrings with various shapes are for sale online. Goiaba has a website, as well as Instagram and Facebook pages. Each subcollection has five units of each model. No more, no less. "All collections are limited edition.” Each pair weighs between 20 and 30 grams. It was an issue that the designer wanted to solve after and hearing complaints from friends and feeling her own ears butchered and sore by heavy earrings. "We wanted to fill this gap in the market, our earrings are super lightweight. ” The material helps. "The part with the pattern is 100% printed acrylic.” The fittings are made of stainless steel. Earrings for those with pierced ears or not. "By default, they have holes, but there is an option to choose with a spring." At affordable prices, between 9.99 and 18.99 euros.

She though a lot about the name, she confesses. "We wanted a name that would conjure freshness and colour," she reveals. It was Goiaba. The designer always speaks in the plural. Beside her is her brother António Coelho, who deals with marketing and digital platforms, and José Martinho, her boyfriend, who takes care of the administrative area. The goal is to expand, grow, embrace other fashion accessories, such as necklaces and sweatshirts. And, still this year, open a physical store in Aveiro, where Irina Coelho, a native of Santa Maria da Feira, has lived for ten years. A space made to combine with her interior design studio and accumulate both projects, just like now.