BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

The bohemian aesthetic lives strong in Bomé, the leather atelier in San Miguel known for its slouchy, butter-soft handbags and belts adorned with antique silver hardware. Originally called Dario Bomé after the family patriarch and leather craftsman, the studio and shop was renamed when Dario and Valeria’s daughter, Paloma, moved back to Ibiza in 2015 after forging a career in Barcelona and Madrid in cinema and theatre costume design. ‘I wanted to preserve my parents’ heritage,’ says Paloma, ‘I’ve been involved in it all my life. The scent of the leather, the workshop, the oil: it’s all so familiar.’

The Bomé story began in 1975, when Dario and Valeria arrived in Ibiza from Italy, instantly falling in love with this magical island. They took one of the first stalls at the iconic Las Dalias market, selling antiques, curios and a few leather pieces created by Dario. The collection grew gradually as the duo travelled to India and Nepal to produce more pieces. ‘My father has always been very good at creating belts with special finishings, and the backpack is his most iconic piece,’ Paloma notes, ‘while my mother has very elegant taste, and a beautiful capacity for putting different things together in a special way.’

There’s a Spanish saying, mi granito de arena, that translates to ‘my little grain of sand’, or a contribution to a collective goal. For Paloma, this means honing her design language while juggling communications for the store, though her biggest hope is to continue working with the communities of craftsmen, weavers and dyers in India. ‘It’s so beautiful to be able to work in India with the sons of the partners that my parents were working with. We feel like family with our artisans. And that’s the biggest treasure that we have.’