Diary of an Underwear Dream (Chapter 4) In Miami, while working at a Direct Marketing agency, I first met my future business partner, Mariela Rovito. She was interviewing me for a job and, according to her, I casually mentioned my long-term dream of creating a lingerie and sleepwear brand—hardly the most strategic move for landing a corporate job. But somehow, I got the role. What stood out to her, she later told me, was my undeniable passion for entrepreneurship, something which clearly resonated with her soul. We became fast friends, sharing an office, lunch breaks, and deep conversations about the void in the lingerie market. At the time, the options were either the hyper-sexualized fantasy of Victoria’s Secret or the androgynous, logo-heavy simplicity of Calvin Klein. There was no brand that celebrated femininity with comfort and ease, like the European lingerie I loved. The more we talked, the clearer the opportunity became. At night, after work, I headed to Miami Beach to work with Ana, a retired lingerie patternmaker introduced to me by a friend of my mother. Ana had spent her career crafting exquisite pieces, and in her tiny studio apartment—where she kept decades-old vintage lace under her bed—she took me under her wing. She taught me how to work with delicate trims, draft patterns, and stitch together beauty on a simple home sewing machine. Together, we built my first collection. I brought the pieces to the office, and the reaction was electric. My coworkers snapped them up immediately. And then, one morning, Mariela—who had always wanted to start her own business but hadn’t found the right idea—looked at me and said, “If you’re still serious about this, I’ll do it with you.” I was stunned. Mariela was my dream business partner—brilliant, tenacious, analytical, and someone I simply loved being around. I knew that with her sharp business mind and my obsession with product, we had something special. A few months later, we quit our jobs and started Eberjey.