Back from Medellin, the factory visits and Colombia Moda 2008. The trip was a great experience and we got to know the right factories to bring into the MFG.com Textiles marketplace. Look for them here soon to service the needs of the MFG.com Fabric and Apparel buyers/brands. In the meantime, here's the equivalent of about 13,000 words to tell a story of what's happening in Medellin right now.
Just spent two days at Colombia Moda in Medellin. The show is very important in the local market and is recognized as one of if not the most important shows for Latin America... Uribe even showed up. We were in town to meet with those Colombian factories that would be a great fit in the MFG.com Textiles marketplace and also to meet in person with the people that make the industry tick in Colombia. We did and we did. Here are the shots.... By the way - the mannequin is not a mannequin.
The group photo from Left to Right.... Carlos from ProExport, Adriana Tieck from InexModa, Roque Ospina (Co-Founder of InexModa), Claritza Rojas Pinzon from ProExport, Clara Echeverri (Co-Founder of InexModa), Jorge Barrera from MFG.com, Ingrid Fitzgerald from ProExport, and Tony Forcucci from MFG.com
We're here in Medellin, Colombia attending Colombia Moda, visiting several top textile and apparel factories. Yesterday there was an important event where the Mayor of Medellin honored Clara Echeverri and Roque Ospina, the founders of Inexmoda who are retiring this week. The event was a nice opportunity to not only meet them but also meet the new director of Inexmoda, Carlos Botero, and the Mayor of Medellin, Alonso Salazar. Medellin is going through a massive and ongoing "transformation" as the locals call it and there is a detectable energy in the people and the city. The results of hard work are everywhere and the people are fiercely proud of their city and what they call "Clusters". Clusters are the areas of business where Medellin (and the state of Antioquia) tend to excel (such as Textiles and Apparel). Here are the shots:
