Meet Emily Mandirola Mariah Fidalgo | Co-Owners of Wild Water Collective

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Mandirola Mariah Fidalgo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily Mandirola, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Wild Water Collective is co-owned by both myself (Emily) and Mariah. We started Wild Water Collective during the height of the pandemic when we both moved home and had lost our jobs. I (Emily) had just moved back from Mexico, where I started a project in Oaxaca working with artists to sell their pieces. I wanted to continue that project and started to sell these handmade hats and woven goods at pop-ups in my town. Mariah had also moved home from NYC where she was working in costume design. Upon moving home with very few clothes, Mariah started to create beautiful clothing pieces that included dresses, scarves, and bandanas. She also started selling her pieces at pop-ups in town, and that is how we met! We decided to take a chance, even though we hadn’t known each other for very long, to join forces and open up a shop in the middle of the pandemic. It sounded crazy to us at the time, and it quite honestly still sounds so crazy, but I think we would both agree it was one of the best chances we ever took!
The idea started as a passion project, we wanted to create a place in our town that hadn’t been built before. A space that offered access to cool art, clothing, and workshops, but most importantly, a place that brought people together when there wasn’t a lot of human interaction.
Today, Wild Water Collective is an artisan boutique that showcases a variety of handmade clothing, jewelry, and homewares. Every item tells a story, and we have a direct connection with all of the artisans that we represent, so we want to share that story with you! We are so proud to see how this space has evolved over the last few years and we hope that you come can come check us out!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We are so proud to represent over 50 different artisans from our hometown and from around the world. The majority of our artists identify as women and we have pieces made from queer artists, Indigenous artists, and artists of color. Our goal is to highlight our amazing artists and provide them with a platform to sell their pieces. It is hard to nail down exactly what our art is, but I think the best way to describe it is beautiful functional pieces that you will use again and again. We have a great collection of pieces that range from handmade jewelry, felt hats, natural dyed tops, to vintage and even handmade pipes! Everything we sell is artisan made, and a lot of our pieces are things you would only be able to find at our store. Because of the nature of our items, you know that every piece is quality and built to last you.
Our favorite part about our shop is the connections we have created with the artists and the customers. It is so special to see these human connections that you don’t often find in retail. We have curated a beautiful little space both online and in our brick and mortar located in Orleans, MA. Our space has become a community gathering space, a space where we host events and workshops, and a place where everyone is welcome.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think we can both agree, that it really does take a village! We have an endless list of people in our community that we are just so grateful for. We are so thankful to have the wonderful community of artists in our shop, who trust us to represent them and sell their pieces. We are both so thankful to our families, for helping with anything and everything that we have asked for over the years- from painting walls to helping us set up events. Mariah’s husband Tom Romme, is quite literally our right hand man, and without him the shop would not be what it is today. We would also both like to thank the many support networks across the Cape that have helped us learn how to run a business like the Cape CDP, WECAN, and E for All.

Website: www.wildwatercollective.com

Instagram: @wildwatercollective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildwatercollective

Image Credits
Tom Romme, Mariah Fidalgo