Mimi in London
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I am not very caught up from earlier this week, so I apologize if this has already been replied to in full. When I personally started putting the pieces together back in August about Patagonia Styles (not claiming to be the only one), it was as a result of finding her sister Daniella, with the seal shoe cover business, now selling rugs on FB marketplace that were "Patagonia Style Designer Rugs" (see attachment).
Could the word 'style' be a spelling error for 'styles'? Sure. But when the home industry uses the word 'style' as a descriptive...it's usually not a reference to the COO (Country of Origin) and doesn't necessarily mean that the rugs are imported from the Patagonia area. When 'style' is used, it's more often used in terms of likeness of origin, rather than actual origin. IMO, as a 21 year veteran of importing Home Furnishings, including hides from both China and India, it's certainly possible that MT's rugs are imported from the Patagonia region, though the pricing could just as easily be from the US, Brazil, or Asia. It all depends on the profit margin they're seeking. MT's sister is selling the rugs at a $389 price point.
As a point of reference, I replaced my 6'x9' entry way cowhide rug with a new one in February 2019 for $120 wholesale (bought at the NY Now Show from Chesterfield, a PA based Company importing cowhides from Brazil-see chesterfieldleather.com for reference). The same rug I bought in February would be about $60 wholesale from India (landed), and even less from China. Would it surprise me if MT was romancing her cowhides as being Patagonia 'style' cowhides and marketing them as such while actually importing them from China or India for the highest margin? Not even for a second. IMO, her rugs are nothing special in the existing market, so I hope that she just has a connection in the Patagonia area and is just blind to the market that already exists amongst US importers (because her pricing is too high to be competitive or pave a new road...and even if the pricing appeals to the average consumer who may or may not reach her private instagram account to buy them, or her sisters FB marketplace offering-even Ikea sells the same rugs at retail for $169, even less from Amazon). So it's either a shady business, it's a BS business to give her and her sister something to do, or it's simply a business that she knows very little about and thinks her 110 or so private Instagram followers and word-of-mouth customers will provide a 'get rich scheme' for her and her family, IMO.
To make a long story, longer, lol,...once I started putting the pieces together and accessed her once public instagram account, I found it to be more active since her arrest than prior to. I watched it and thought that with her and FD following each other, it was a very easy way to evade LE and stay under the radar. In the days leading up to September 8th (when I reported the account to LE), she was showing less about rugs and more about local CT locations and times (3:15pm became more prevalent) and possibly using the account to send 'inside' messages. As I've already said here, less than 24 hours after reporting the account and back-up documentation to LE, @PatagoniaStyles, a business, was now private. IMO, it's a total sham. At best, it was a business to give her a purpose and connect her to other locals. It has nothing to do with her previous 20 years of business experience...so you be the judge. An escape from FD? Possibly. An 'honest' business her baby daddy could understand, maybe? I think since her arrest, it has served as a shelter for her to communicate with FD (and her daughter and extended family) to appear legit. MOO
That’s all very interesting. If there were actual rugs involved I think they may have come from Turkey, looking at her FB friends.