We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful ALDA ESCOBAR. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with ALDA below.

ALDA, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I was born in Guatemala and later moved to California. From traveling experiences with my mother and a passion for designing back to my roots in Guatemala, I discovered this emerging passion complemented with the vision of creating an impact of fashion responsibility. I founded Madre Luna in 2017 to recognize the importance of heritage, high quality and craftsmanship of indigenous communities. Our partner artisans we work experience extreme poverty and hardships. I want to help women, many of them work in rural areas from their own home. My mission as an hispanic entrepreneur is to empower artisans, inspire and connect with people by becoming an influencer and educator specially supporting humanitarian rights and appeals.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Madre Luna is a fair trade shop featuring ethically sourced, artisan-made products. Behind each of our products is a person who created it and a story. Our mission is connected with the fundamental belief that every person has the right to safe jobs and fair, livable wages. We seek to empower artisans in Guatemala by extending their products’ distribution and supporting sustainable income opportunities. Madre Luna partners with artisans and cooperative groups in Guatemala to source, create and produce one of a kind handmade collections as bags, shoes and accessories. Our collections are limited and one of a kind designed in California by (me), founder Alda Escobar. All Madre Luna artisan partners receive a fair wage. Many of the women artisans we work are located in rural areas and indigenous communities. We support and create long lasting relationships and providing social and economic opportunities through a fair trade model of business based in trust, transparency and communication.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

We currently manufacture our products in Guatemala. Every collection is One of a Kind and handcrafted. We had to travel to small villages to find the right producers and manufactures. We wanted to impact our community by a Fair trade model of ethical, environmentally conscious, and sustainable production that focuses on creating economic opportunities for disadvantaged producers. Madre Luna represents a community that believes that all people, regardless of their gender, race, and religion, deserve the opportunity to support themselves and their families through dignified work opportunities. We have learned along the way that we are inspired and honor to represent underserved communities. This year, more than ever, we have seen the positive impact this community can make in the lives of people.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The story of how I funded my business started when I was in grad school, I saved like $1,000 dollars and went back to Guatemala, researched my idea, found artisan partners who wanted to work with me and started to invest in some products. I remember, I started with an online store through Wix and Etsy. Everything was selling and my customers loved everything. Eventually, I had to apply for a small business loan because my brand was growing so I could design more products. Now, my brand has expanded and I launch two unique collections per year.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.madre-luna.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madre.luna.atelier/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madrelunaatelier/