My Fab Lanzarote Peeps - Karene Amsellem Cohen

Welcome to my brand new feature, My Special Lanzarote Peeps! This new feature will appear regularly on my post and will include some of the fabulous people who live on Lanzarote

My very first guest is not only a fabulous person, but a brilliant fashion designer, please meet the wonderful, Karene Amsellem Cohen.

P: "Karene, thank you so much for being my first guest in this exciting new slot and you know every time I see you, you are smiling and so positive about everything."

K: "Thank you, but why not smile, it makes everyone else smile too."

P: "While we are having our chat, I am meandering around your fabby fashion shop in the Biosfere in Puerto del Carmen. It is such a vibrant place to be with its riot of colours from the racks of beautiful tops, dresses and accessories. So perfect for the hot sunny weather of the island, but before we talk about your shop, tell me about you, where you are from and how you came to the island."

K: "You know, I came to the island because I fell madly in love, but before I tell more, let me answer your question about where I am from. I am from Israel. I was born there, educated there and my family live there. After I left school, I went to university and graduated as a fashion designer. My passion has always been to design smart casual, sophisticated different clothes. That dream came true for me when I was nominated for the best, youngest designer in Israel in 2002. For a while I worked at one of the top fashion design houses in Paris. When I returned to Israel I got together with a friend from university and together we created our own label. It hit the headlines and we were seen on television and in the newspapers. It was a magnificent time, but things were about to change!

"At a chance meeting I met a man who I knew was the man for me. It changed everything. And although I left Israel and gave up working with my business partner, I didn’t give up my fashion. Sam, now my husband and father of my gorgeous children, and I travelled all over the world buying some of the best clothes and jewellery. We opened 6 shops in Lanzarote and 1 in Barcelona. It was a truly exciting time.

"The recession came and we knew things would change. We downsized on the shops and moved to the new Biosfera where I have Adama. It is an open air shopping centre which is perfect for Lanzarote. The island is filled with sunshine and energy and I want the clothes in my shop to reflect that. I want people to feel good, happy, bright and positive when they come into my shop looking for something new. Sam helps me with the shop and last year he launched his own designer range of fantastic watches, Volkan, which now sell worldwide. We are both designers, both from Israel and both full of energy to make things happen."

P: "Well Karene you’ve certainly inspired me with your energy, but before we end this lovely chat, I’ve just one more question. Will we see a new label from you?"

K: "I am sure you will. I have so many ideas going round in my head, I certainly hope so!"

A huge thank you to my wonderful guest and friend, Karene.

I hope you have enjoyed the first, in what I hope will be many chats with more fabulous Lanzarote Peeps!