THE KIKSON

I moved to Portugal 3 years ago, not speaking a word of Portuguese. Pretty soon, I realized that if I wanted to connect with people — like really connect — I'd have to learn the language. Most locals didn't speak English, and I didn't want to be just another foreigner passing through.

So I started learning. My Portuguese friends took it seriously, and after many finos, beach sunsets, and a lot of embarrassing mistakes, something unexpected happened. I stopped translating in my head. I just started mixing.

I'd say "Let's go à praia" without thinking. Or "I need to comprar pão real quick." Or my personal favorite: "Estou so tired hoje." My friends would laugh, repeat it back to me, and then... they'd start saying it too.

It wasn't a decision. It wasn't even intentional. It just became the way we talked. The language of people who belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

That's when I realized: this isn't broken English or bad Portuguese. This is our language. The language of the in-between. Of third culture kids, expats who stayed too long, locals who left and came back different, and everyone who's ever felt like home is more of a feeling than a place.

So I made a t-shirt. Just one. As a joke.

And then my friends wanted one. And their friends. And suddenly, people I'd never met were wearing phrases that felt like inside jokes we all shared.

That's how The KIKSON was born — by complete accident, in a tiny apartment in Portugal, by someone who just wanted to belong.

This brand is for all of us who have roots a little bit everywhere.

Prazer,
Kiki