La Flor Cerval (which means wildflower) works with the wool of the Xalda sheep, an endangered native breed from Asturias. Many farmers are forced to discard this wool due to a lack of buyers. Marina Pérez has made it the center of a project that encompasses the entire process: from raising the animals to selling the final product. The yarns are processed industrially in Spanish factories, and the jackets are made in a workshop in Béjar. Thus, the project supports what little remains of the textile structure in the country.
For Pérez, recovering this resource goes beyond mere material exploitation. "I like that idea of how the material speaks, especially in clothing: it speaks of landscape, of culture. I think it's important to give back to this world a bit of the beauty and diversity that has been lost." The project has been featured in Vogue España and other fashion magazines, but the co-founder remains realistic: she finds more meaning in the local market, at fairs, and through word of mouth.
Regarding how one sustains a life like this economically, Pérez asserts: "I can only say that we get by and that the love for this life sweetens many difficulties."
