A day in the Ibiza life: Rachel Entwistle
The celebrity favourite jeweller has lived and worked in San Carlos for five years.
The jewellery designer Rachel Entwistle was born in London and raised in the UK. She is known for her unconventional silver and gold pieces which encourage dialogue around myth, symbolism, history and nature. Rachel's jewellery is worn by the likes of Kiera Knightley, Rita Ora, FKA Twigs and Russell Brand. She lives in a finca near San Carlos with her partner Marco and their dog Luna.
'We live in an old finca in the Morna Valley. We're right in the middle of the Ibicenco family’s old farmland and we have sheep all around us: it's incredibly peaceful. Ibiza has always felt like home to me. I first lived here for two consecutive summer seasons when I was 18 and 19. I saved up all my money after I left school and got a job in San Antonio as a flyer girl for Cream. In 2016 my partner and I were here visiting friends when the first Brexit vote came through. We made the made the decision that day to move here permanently. Our dog wakes us up early. She’s a very bouncy Hungarian Visla and she'll be desperate to go for a walk. I’ll grab a coffee and head out across the fields for an hour. After that I might do some weights or a HIIT class in S’Argamassa. I have to be very active before I get into the studio to get into my creative headspace. We have several outbuildings – corrales – at our house and during lockdown we bit the bullet and fitted out a studio one of them. It was the best investment ever. It's fully insulated so it's warm even when the rest of the house is cold and it overlooks the garden. Having a space to be creative is essential to me. When I was younger, I got pushed into an office job which wasn’t right for me at all. I’d studied cultural studies with anthropology and went on to work for non-governmental organizations in London, working on environmental and social policies. I come from a very creative family but I didn't have that much guidance at school in terms of knowing which direction to go in. In fact, it was only when I left my London life behind and took a position as a project manager for a charity in Nicaragua that things suddenly began to make sense. From there I travelled to Guatemala and then onto Tulum. I arrived in Tulum the night of a full moon party and thought wow, this is where I need to live. I began selling clothes that I made on an old sewing machine and I met my long-term ex-partner who was a local jeweller. That was the start of my journey.
When I get into the studio in the morning the first thing I do is connect with my team and the shop in London. For someone who got into jewellery in quite a haphazard way, I still find it quite surprising that I have shop and team! We’ll go through emails and new bespoke requests. At lunchtime, Marco will cook something fabulous. He’s from Puerto Rico and he is the most phenomenal cook, very experimental and he loves playing with flavours. Lunch might be anything from a vegetarian curry to Puerto Rican rice and beans with plantain or his speciality, Mexican molé. We always have fresh orange juice - even if we don't have oranges on our own trees, then our neighbour brings them over for us. She comes with little crates of oranges or eggs or avocados. We have a lemon tree outside our house and nisperos and bitter orange, which Marco makes cocktail-flavoured jams from, like mezcal margarita orange marmalade! We are quite ritualistic with our food at home. We definitely have three meals a day and we always sit down together and eat. Whenever people stay at our house, they're like, wow, you guys actually properly eat every day!
In the afternoon I might be working on bespoke designs for engagement or wedding rings with a client, or on upcoming collections. Since December I've been working on a new collection that I'm producing in India. It’s quite Ibiza-inspired with anklets and body chains and fine necklaces that can be layered. I initially got into jewellery through my ex-partner. We met in Palenque and he had a house in San Cristobal. I lived then there on and off for three years. We would come back and sell our jewellery at festivals in England in summer. He was Mexican with indigenous roots and a very gifted energy worker in the Tótec traditon, so we would also do retreats and workshops. When we separated, I knew I had to follow my jewellery path alone. I took a studio at Nettle House in London Fields just as that whole creative community was kicking off. I also had a stall at Spitalfields market. It was quite a significant time for me: I did London Fashion Week and pop-up on Colombia Road and that was great because it was a direct link to my customers who connected with pieces. Everything that I create has a certain significance or a meaning and that narrative is very importnt to me. I knew it was time for a shop and when this little location popped up just off Redchurch Street we took a leap of faith. We had no money to fit it out so we salvaged a lot of furniture and trawled vintage markets and our carpenter helped us build some things. We opened in less than a month on a budget of two thousand pounds and sold almost everything the first day! Which was serendipitous as we didn’t have enough money to pay the rent for the next month.
When I finish work, we might head out for a walk or a little beach picnic. In winter we like to host cosy suppers at home. Marco will cook and we’ll do some fun cocktails and have good music. We love a little micro party where people can dance. In summer we like to go for supper most Fridays at the Uruguayan steakhouse in San Carlos. I have the same thing every time – grass-fed steak, chips, red wine and glass of water. They don’t even ask me anymore. I also love Hambre for an all-round dining experience with good service, great decor and amazing food. If friends are visiting then we might go to dance at Namaste or to Hï if a friend is DJing. In summer I tend to go with the flow! I go to bed quite late. I always wear a silk kimono from my friend’s label, Fara Boutique and I like to have some quiet time before I sleep, to reflect on things, perhaps to meditate. My brother passed away while I was in Mexico and I went on a deep spiritual journey which was very transformative for me. I have a relationship to spirit that is connected to where my brother is and is and our dimension in the universe. And even thought I don't meditate that much now, if I do, I can go quite quickly into quite a deep space. As I fall asleep, I feel so grateful for the life we have here. For the community and the weather and the nature and the freedom. In my twenties I tried to create my own freedom by being a workaholic. But I wasn’t free at all. Now I know it’s not just about success but about purpose. Having purpose in my life has helped me to overcome my grief.'
