Featured Shop: Don Fisher

Ahoy! This is Captain Don Fisher speaking. Actually, this is Julia Castaño – the girl behind the bearded Captain’s concept. I’m a graphic designer based in Barcelona, Spain.

I studied branding and design. When I finished my master’s degree in 2012, all I could think about was having my own shop where I could make beautiful things. Back then, my favorite thing to do was spend hours browsing beautiful pictures on Pinterest, so I started a blog called Pesca lo Bonito, which is a pun that means “fishing beautiful things.” (In Spanish, bonito means beautiful, but a bonito is also a kind of fish.) There, I shared beautiful projects by different designers that I really liked.

Sometime after I started Pesca lo Bonito, my mom said, “Why don’t you make fish-shaped pencil cases? They would be beautiful bonitos!” With that, I started designing and sewing, and my collection has grown from there. When I was thinking of what to name my brand, I knew it had to be the name of a Captain (of course!) – so Don Fisher was a pretty good option. And here we are.

When I presented Don Fisher for the first time – at one of the best European handmade fairs, Festivalet – it was beyond successful. I never imagined such a good reaction to my creations! Some days later, I decided to open an Etsy shop so I could sell my products worldwide. I’m very happy I made the decision to open a shop here. I receive lots of nice messages supporting my work, and that’s very encouraging for me.

I started this brand all by myself, but my family and boyfriend always help with everything they can: they come with me to fairs, help cut and sew when things are busy, and my boyfriend even dresses up as Captain Don Fisher himself when we’re at events. This past year, I introduced new products such as bags, backpacks and beach towels, and I am currently working on some ideas that will come to life after the summer break. I can’t wait to share them – stay tuned!

Follow Don Fisher on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

All photographs by Caro Adrover.