We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kendal Wright a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kendal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
Before the business there was the name!
In the very early stages of workshopping my brand and what it stood for, I was home with family brainstorming. While jotting down words such as “artisanal”, “imports”, “handmade”, “bohemian”, my brother in law from the other room says,
“Hey! How about BoHo Imports?” And there it was!
For those of you who may not know, the word “boho” is short for bohemian. If you look up the actual definition, it stands for a person who may be unconventional or interested in the arts.
Today it is more referred to as a style in fashion. However, I personally like to think of bohemian fashion not just as a type of look but more in a sense of freedom and self-expression from the actual people who make the product.
The bohemian aspect represents the Artisans themselves. At BoHo Imports every piece is carefully handcrafted from small businesses, currently throughout all of Mexico. We focus on making cultural artistry accessible by brining it right to your doorstep!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
A lifetime traveler, turned import business owner.
Using my passion for travel, I thought what better way to sustain my livelihood than support other people’s passions and livelihoods around the world! And so BoHo Imports was created to discover hidden Artisans and make their craft easily obtainable.
Every item is not only sustainable and fair-trade, but beautiful and practical. Slow-fashion meets comfort. A product with a face. A soul. A small business supporting other small businesses, which in turn supports a global economy. We take pride in everything being handmade and our main focus is our leather shoe line, The Huaraches. There is a wide variety of options, including slip ons, high heels, and kid’s shoes! And the best part is they all soften and mold to your feet perfectly.
Our small businesses are reciprocal and cyclical. We are the same. Striving to support our dreams and further our goals while still sustaining artisanal craftsmanship that has more meaning than initially may first meet the eye. It has a long history and hopefully it will be carried on in our ever changing modern world.
We are not reinventing the wheel but rather shine a spotlight on what can be accomplished by our own two hands, as was done lifetimes before us.
It’s fun. It’s creative. And is shared as an opportunity to showcase other small businesses so they can be recognized and supported too.
Quality products for the dreamers, seekers, and travelers.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Like many others, I lost my job during the pandemic. I was an event coordinator and as we all know, there weren’t any more events!
I had no clue what direction my life was going to take, which most of us know how intimidating of a feeling that can be.
I enjoyed my profession but also felt like I was stuck where I was at and had hit my ceiling. So as time went on I knew going back to a 9-5 wasn’t going to fulfill me in the long run.
During that time, a friend invited me to Mexico and I bought a pair of huaraches hidden away in a dusty little shop. To be honest, I had never seen that style of shoe before and did not think much of them other than that they were cute!
Later on, after wearing-in my handmade leather sandals I realized I loved them so much I thought others might enjoy them just as much as I did.
With a single thought, “I wonder if I could sell these?” I decided it was worth a shot to start an import business of artisanal goods and we are going on (3) years strong!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When dealing in foreign affairs it seems like there is a fair amount of risk alongside the trial and errors that come from starting any business.
To find the actual makers of the shoes, we started out by driving hours away to towns we heard they could be making the shoes and then literally knocked on doors.
To my great excitement and astonishment, the first one we found welcomed us with open arms and the brand BoHo Imports was officially a shoe line!
However, this was shorter lived than expected. Down the road when mistakes were made, items would come damaged or even lost, rather than wanting to rectify the situation they would make excuses and eventually deem my business as too small and not worth their time and energy.
The sad thing is I have lost several different manufacturers to said indifferences along with a ton of my own personal resources, time, and energy.
However the biggest silver lining is that it highlights the other Artisans who do whatever it takes to sustain the partnership and I currently would not be where I am at today without them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.boho-imports.com
- Instagram: @boho_imports
- Facebook: BoHo Imports
Image Credits
Kim Utley Photography