Fernando Adames – Top Latinos
Redondo Beach, CA /LWW/ Mr. Fernando Adames, Artist, Designer & Owner of Fernando’s, has been recognized by the Top Latinos in the 2026 edition.
A boutique can announce itself in many ways. Some use glowing screens, polished displays, and layers of new technology. Fernando’s, tucked into Riviera Village in Redondo Beach, California, has a different kind of signature.
A few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, its most memorable feature is not digital. It hums, stitches, and carries more than 40 years of history. It is a Juki Industrial sewing machine, a mid-20th-century workhorse that has become part of the soul of the shop.
For Ruben Fernando Adames, artist, designer, and owner of Fernando’s, that machine is not a relic. It is a reminder that originality can still begin with a needle, a thread, and a pair of hands willing to make something personal.
Fernando, who prefers to go by his first name, has built his life around that idea. In a retail world often driven by speed and sameness, he has chosen patience, texture, color, and craft. His work does not shout for attention. It draws people closer.
Walk into Fernando’s in Riviera Village, and you may find Fernando seated behind his Juki, focused on a jacket, a piece of vintage fabric, or a small detail that will change the whole feeling of a garment.
“No one has a store with a sewing machine on the premises anymore,” said Fernando, who grew up in Bogotá, Colombia.
That is part of the magic. The machine is not hidden away in a back room or separated from the customer experience. It belongs to the atmosphere of the boutique. It tells visitors that what happens here is not ordinary retail. It is hands-on, personal, and alive.
Fernando uses the machine to add appliqués to jackets and to create accessories such as belts, bracelets, and scarves. He also makes home pieces, including pillows, throws, blankets, and baby blankets. His custom-made pillows, throws, and baby blankets have been warmly received in the Village, where customers appreciate pieces that bring color, comfort, and individuality into their homes.
Men’s and women’s clothing remain the staple at Fernando’s, but his work reaches beyond the closet. A room can be refreshed by a single fabric. A jacket can gain a second life with one bold detail. A bracelet can carry the feel of a place, a memory, or a mood.
Fernando did not begin sewing as a performance or a trend. He began because there was a need.
“I started to sew out of necessity. There was a need for customized clothing in Hermosa Beach. Over the years I’ve collected a large amount of fabric, and I like to bring originality and customization to everything I touch,” he said.
That sentence explains much of his journey. Fernando saw a gap and answered it with skill. Then he kept learning. In the late 1990s, after becoming interested in the Juki machine at his shop, he taught himself how to sew. What began as curiosity soon became one of the defining features of his business.
Word spread. In Hermosa Beach, he became known for creating costumes for people attending Burning Man, the Nevada desert festival known for science-fiction and fantasy-inspired looks. Those projects called for imagination, boldness, and a willingness to make the unusual feel wearable.
Yet whether he was making a festival costume, adding an appliqué to a jacket, or designing a pillow from vintage fabric, the purpose stayed the same: create something that feels like it belongs to the person who chose it.
Fernando and his wife, Renessa, opened the first Fernando’s shop in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1980. The boutique became a neighborhood fashion store, offering men’s and women’s clothing with a sense of personal care that customers remembered.
From 1990 to 2001, Fernando also represented several New York manufacturers in Los Angeles within the garment industry and sold to women’s clothing manufacturers. That chapter gave him a wider view of fashion, production, fabric quality, and what customers truly respond to.
Through it all, he kept building his own eye. Some of his appliqués and exotic fabrics come from the LA Textile Show. Other one-of-a-kind vintage fabrics are found around the world. Each fabric brings its own character, and Fernando knows how to let that character speak.
These materials are more than inventory. They are possibilities waiting to be shaped. They can brighten a room, transform a jacket, soften a nursery, or turn a simple accessory into something no one else owns.
For customers looking for distinctive pieces, retail prices often range from $100 to $200 for a repurposed jacket, $50 to $100 for belts, and $30 to $75 for bracelets. But the lasting value is not only in the price. It is in the story of the fabric, the handwork, and the feeling that the piece was made with care rather than copied by the thousands.
In 2012, Fernando’s moved a few miles south to Redondo Beach after the Hermosa Beach building that housed the boutique was sold. Riviera Village brought a new rhythm and a new mix of customers.
Redondo Beach clients are often more settled than the Hermosa Beach crowd, and many are drawn to homewares such as blankets, pillows, and throws. At the same time, the area brings in visitors from near and far. Tourists staying at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes often stop by Riviera Village and discover something made on Fernando’s machine.
“If it’s something that they can’t find, we try to find it,” he said.
That line captures the spirit of Fernando’s. It is not only about selling what is already there. It is about listening closely, searching carefully, and using imagination to meet a need. Fernando has built his reputation on that kind of resourcefulness.
Since 1981, Fernando’s work has reflected a rare kind of consistency. Not the kind that repeats itself, but the kind that keeps returning to its values: originality, usefulness, quality, and personal attention.
Retail has changed dramatically since Fernando first opened his doors. Stores have become more automated. Fashion has become faster. Customers are often asked to choose from what already exists.
Fernando offers another path. He shows that a boutique can still feel human. A garment can still be touched by the person who imagined it. A fabric can still be selected for its personality. An old machine can still create something new.
That is what makes his story distinctive. Fernando does not need to chase every trend because his work is rooted in something deeper. He understands that style is not only about what people wear. It is about how they feel when something reflects who they are.
Ruben Fernando Adames has built more than a shop. He has built a creative life, one shaped by discipline, instinct, and the courage to keep making things by hand in a world that often prizes speed over soul.
His story is a quiet invitation to anyone trying to create something meaningful: start with what you have. Learn as you go. Stay curious. Stay consistent. Let your work carry your signature.
Do not give up. Be creative. Be consistent.
In the right hands, even a simple sewing machine can become a source of beauty, purpose, and unforgettable originality.
Top Latinos is a prestigious New York publication dedicated to honoring the achievements of the Latino community. They meticulously identify and honor outstanding Latino professionals nationwide who have reached impressive levels of success in their respective fields. By showcasing their accomplishments, they aim to foster growth and appreciation of the Latino industry and culture. Since their establishment in 2010, Top Latinos has been wholeheartedly committed to fulfilling their mission of bringing awareness to the exceptional contributions made by the Latino professional and executive community.