Margarita Sader: a woman on a mission
Her origins are from South America and she ended up in Barcelona in a very roundabout way. Let’s hear the story of this fireball of energy and how she has combined all her passions into a dynamic career.
At Paradiso in the signature uniform
My interview with Margarita
You are from Venezuela. Tell me about your journey and how you ended up in Barcelona.
I was born in Venezuela, the youngest of four children. We are three girls and one boy. I studied fashion in Venezuela and studied fashion. When I was 19, I decided to move to Europe to find another future to learn different languages. It was a special moment as well. I lost my father at that time. I always wanted to travel and learn things “because that was something that my dad always told me. “You must do it”. So I moved to Greece first. I was learning Greek.
She was determined to study fashion design.
Modeling one of her aprons.
Why Greece?
Greece because I love the language, I have some friends there and I was also studying humanities, fashion and history. If you really want to know the origins of Europe you need to go to Greece. After Greece, I started traveling all around the Europe because of my papers. I only had the permission to stay in a country for 90 days. So I was traveling all around and went to see some cousins living in northern Sweden. So I was in and out of the European Union, and took advantage of the cheap tickets.
When I was 20, I came to Barcelona for vacation because my cousin was living here; she had just moved from Madrid and was opening a spa, so she asked me if I’d like to stay there with her and I was like, ”Wow, I love this city”. I loved Greece but this was completely different: the language, the people, the mentality, very cosmopolitan. I started as receptionist in the spa, and then I found out W hotel was looking for people. I wanted to do something bigger and learn more. One of my skills was English, so I got the job. I remember my mom asking me, “What are you going to do in the hotel?” I said, “I don’t know but they picked me!” I started as a hostess, then lead host, then I went to the bar where Giacomo worked.
I was super happy, my cousins had moved back to Madrid, I was 22, I had a place of my own and was independent. At the W, there were beautiful and interesting clients and it was right on the sea. They moved me to the cocktail bar and when I started there were a lot of gorgeous guys and in the middle there was an Italian (Giacomo Giannotti). I thought he was very quiet, but actually it's because he didn’t speak much Spanish.
So what struck you about Giacomo, was it those dimples?
(Laughs) they’re super cute. Nice, handsome, very good at his job and a little mysterious because he was next to me but he really didn’t talk to me. And I like to talk a lot.
He was always working behind the pass when I was in the VIP area. And he knew I loved passion fruit martinis.
One day I came by when he was working and he said, “Look, I made a passion fruit martini for you”. And he took my hand and said tutto passione, niente fruit. (all passion no fruit)
At the Asia 50 Best Gala in custom outfits
So that’s how he broke the ice, and that’s when we started to date, but in secret, because we were not supposed to date people from our same department.
Okay, about your journey as a fashion designer. Did that start in Venezuela?
My mom used to have a store.
She’s a designer?
No she’s a lawyer, but she had a fashion shop. She used to sell very elegant dresses in Caracas; she had two stores in a mall. My parents used to travel and bring clothes from other countries to Venezuala when it was a more prosperous country. So I grew up in this environment. I love fashion and when I decided to study it, my family didn’t think it was a proper career.
Nevertheless I studied fashion there, and when I came here I started working in hospitality. When I learned that I liked the job, I had a talk with my manager at the W and asked I asked her what direction should I take as a career. She said I should go for sales. “You're very good”. So while I worked nights, I studied marketing by day and got a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. I am still very interested in marketing and it helps me in my jobs every day. I was thrilled to participate at Tales of the Cocktail as a panelist with Hanna Lee Communications.
Tell me about the Women in Hospitality event sponsored by Campari Academy of Spain.
I was moderator and co-organizer of the event and we invited Flavi Andrade of Rossio , Lisbon Gina Barbachano of Hanky Panky , Mexico City, Melanie Da Conceição of Salmon Guru , Madrid, Sonia Díaz of 1862 Dry Bar , Madrid, Inés de los Santos of CoChinChina , Buenos Aires, and Aline Vargas , Floreria Atlántico , Buenos Aires.
At the event we discussed the topics that inspire women in the hospitality sector:
Women bartenders. Singularities and challenges.
Female leadership.
Equality and diversity.
Sustainability. Zero waste goal.
Creativity and profitability of small and medium enterprises (SME).
The new challenges.
New tendencies.
In a round table format, we listened to the reflections and opinions of six greats from the world scene who have successfully carried out their own personal/business project. They talked about the obstacles and barriers they had to overcome to reach their goals.
Pictured, clockwise: Margarita, Aline, Flavia, Gina and Ines
I know you designed the uniforms for Paradiso, how did that come about?
So, I was working in hospitality, studying marketing, but still into fashion. I always had my sewing machine at home to make some clothes. I started trying to make dresses for friends and sell them, but I really couldn’t open a business because it was too expensive and there is so much competition with fast fashion, especially here in Spain.
I was working with One Ocean Club. They would have parties and I used to dress the women and participate in little events here and there. I made a little but it was not enough to pay the rent. I was working at the Boca Chica cocktail bar at that time. Giacomo was about to open Paradiso at the same time. There were the usual delays and then about three days before the opening, Giacomo said, “Amore, we don’t have uniforms, can you make something for us?”
And I’m like Oh my God—well I had some fabric at home that I was going to use for a sofa, a jacquard with birds and flowers, so I said, OK, let’s make aprons. I also used black fabric and I got inspiration from the waves like the ceiling of the bar. I got someone to print the name on them in just one day.
It really is so unique. Your uniform is like no other.
That’s the idea. I think the universe brought this career to me because as soon as the bar opened people started commenting on our aprons and started asking if I can make something like that for them. Something different and original. It’s a lot different from making a dress that you wear for one day. With a uniform, you wear it every day, it’s custom made and it’s not like anyone else’s. So I said, yes, why not? We are going to be different. So we started researching for material that was very strong.
Margarita in her new atelier across from Paradiso
How much feedback you get from the actual people working in the bar?
A lot. Sometimes they say to me, oh make this longer or this shorter because they need to move--my jackets are all more comfortable in the back because I work a lot with hospitality: bartenders, chefs and waiters. See these jackets? Here they are reinforced in the back of the shoulder. I love to work with natural materials because they are good quality, very washable and they breathe. I love the beautiful details. I spend more in quality, but it needs to be practical. You know it's beautiful to have an amazing floor length dress but it’s no good if you can’t walk, you really need to wear it comfortably. For example, my aprons are gender free and you don’t have any weight on the back of your neck. In the middle, there is a triangle and an X so it can adapt. They are super light. They have anti stain details in the areas where you touch the bar and the tins.
So you really thought about it. Because it comes from the minds of the people working in the bar.
And they're practicle. I don't use any animal skin or toxic material. I use recycled plastic in the bomber jacket we made.
The bomber is in twill, of 100% recycled polyamide.
The Galaxy jacket.
I understand you're about to make some changes to the uniform at Paradiso…
I work at Paradiso now in the creativity part, in the concept development. And the idea for the next menu is very beautiful. Our tradition is to change our menu once a year, which is coming up later on. So the entire team meets up and we develop the ideas of the menu. Naturally, everything in the bar has to make sense with the same concept. So if we are working on sustainability, we're talking about good materials, about recycling. We have opened our waste lab. There we utilize all the waste from our bar to create new objects to use in the bar itself, like coasters, napkin holders, and accessories. I'm going to make an upgrade of the uniforms we're using now and I want them to be the evolution. You know evolution is the concept we have in place now and our next concept… I won’t tell you now, but it is coming up towards the end of the year.
For example, this is a galaxy jacket. This was for the evolution menu and right now I'm adding some reflective elements. This year, we have been traveling a lot, taking inspiration from around the world and as we're talking about sustainability and animals, it all fits in our project. You will see with the new menu this will evolve a little bit more and we will print it ourselves. And the idea is to work with a tint, something that changes colors with the light. It’s still recognizable as the Paradiso uniform, but just evolved. Sometimes we add flowers, animals, plants, but the concept will be the same.
What are the shoulder pockets for?
These pockets are handy so you can have your pen, your opener and your tweezers for the garnish. We put pockets on both sides because everybody is different. So if you’re right or left handed or depending on which side your client is on. Another thing we did was take an idea from the ice cream seller. The sleeves are wide so they can move freely while preparing the cones. Giacomo’s family had an ice cream shop so that was a good idea.
What colors or designs do you think make you relax in a bar?
Dark green is a very relaxing color and I love to use it. is a very versatile color for decorating. I also love dark gold and copper--they're vintage and trendy and luxurious and I think they match very well.
So what's coming up for the future in Bartrends?
I think future is now and right now we are making a big move. We changed the atelier to the where the waste lab was and now the new atelier is just across from Paradiso. And we are working with the new materials. I'm starting to test all the ways that we're using them to make something really cool. So before I launch it, I need to be sure they work. So I'm starting to work with these materials and making different tests with the vacuum bags from the lab to make hats and umbrellas, and try to reuse the plastic in different ways. The atelier is not for people to buy off the rack because everyone wants something unique. It is mainly to show what kind of things we can create for our clients, as an inspiration.
I feel very priveleged I was able to see the fruits of my labor, combining my drive for fashion with hospitality and sustainability, using my marketing and people skills and helping my sisters move ahead in the bar industry.
I’ll take Giacomo’s phrase and rework it: All passion, and some fruit too!
Inside the atelier.
Five questions for Margarita
Who is your favorite fashion designer?
My mom.
What is the most important thing that is part of a bartender's uniform?
How you feel it. You need to present yourself in a perfect way and feel good.
If you were a cocktail, which one would you be?
I am a spicy Margarita!
How do you think people describe you in one word?
Happy.
The most important thing of your personality that you need to have as a business owner.
You need to reflect your own personality and your brand. You need to feel it. It's very important because the brand bears my name.