Daphna Allen

Daphna Allen lives and designs in the small Mediterranean island of Menorca in Spain. Born in Haifa Israel, she started travelling the world soon after finishing her military service and her education in the Reali Institute. She has lived in London, Seattle, Thailand and Ibiza, but her main career as a fashion designer took off when she settled in Barcelona. There she founded her own company, designing and producing Pret-a-Porter collections for outlets all over Spain. In 2000, Daphna decided to move with her husband to Menorca and live in the countryside, changing her focus from fashion design to home decor, creating personalized and hand crafted items. Menorca has been declared by UNESCO as a “Reserve of the Biosphere,” a unique model for the conservation of the environment. Daphna uses her background and talent to project her new lifestyle through her designs. She only works with local women; all items are handmade and machine embroidered and the fabrics of best quality. Her works reflect the special and personal touch of all handcrafted objects. Daphna´s special relationship with America goes back to one of her ancestors: Michael Mitchel Allen, born in Philadelphia in 1830, was the first known Jew to serve as a chaplain in the United States Army. In 1866 he moved to New York City where he married Julia Spanier, herself a member of a distinguished German rabbinic family, and became the director of Hebrew studies at the Hebrew School of the Spanish-Portuguese congregation Shearith Israel.