We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erica Rivera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I founded my business, Love and Wonder Co, in the fall of 2021. I along with the rest of the world was trying to figure out how to live life in this new normal. I have always been a creative and a maker since I was a kid, it is what brings me the most joy. I wanted to create a business that brought joy to people. I took a look around and what things I had that brought me joy and that’s where my product ideas came from. There is a term called “Dopamine Dressing” where people dress to improve their mood. While I was unfamiliar with the term that is exactly what I was doing in my own life and I wanted others to do the same with my products. Whether it’s a headband, set of earrings, tote bag, sticker or stationary I wanted each item to bring you joy throughout your day.

Erica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

One of my earliest memories of painting was in Kindergarten where I painted the back of a truck with a red and blue gift in it. I grew up watching Bob Ross and wanting to be a painter just like him. I come from a long line of creators, my abuela was a seamstress and she taught my mom how to sew and in turn my mom taught me. It’s in my blood to be a maker. I went on to study Graphic Design and Industrial Design and began my design career. Along the way I realized I wanted to design a business of my own. After many attempts I arrived and Love and Wonder Co. Love, I believe everyone deserves and craves love and I wanted a name that would bring a positive emotion to people. Wonder is a nod to the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island, Brooklyn, where I grew up. I chose to make headbands, earrings, tote bags, stationary and stickers as a small way that people can bring joy into their lives on a daily basis. What brings me the most joy is seeing my products on others. I recently did a market and this adorable young woman, dressed in the most colorful outfit, wanted to buy a headband. While she was picking it out I thanked her parents for allowing her to be her most colorful self and for encouraging her to express herself through fashion. The smile on her face as she put on her new headband melted my heart. A week later I would also do a market at the DC Pride Parade and I was overwhelmed at the reception of my products. I got to witness firsthand person after person pick out fun earrings, headbands, hair clips and the joy it brought them and it gave me the confidence to keep doing what I was doing.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In the spring of 2020 I was laid off. Finding a job was difficult and to keep my sanity I began my education on YouTube University searching to learn various hobbies, like balloon decor, clay earrings and so much more. After realizing that finding a job was more difficult than I thought I knew that I needed to make a change, I needed to stir the pot and do something different. I looked at a map and decided on the DC area and I made the move. This place provided a chance for me to start over and to give myself the chance to wonder and take stock of all the things that are important to me and most importantly things that bring me joy. This is where Love and Wonder Co. was born. I took all of my favorite things and made it into a business. I was able to find joy again in a new home and bring this joy into my business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Lesson: Caring about the opinion of others. This is a lesson that I had to unlearn and am continuing to work on. As much as I can say I have made choices in my life that would lead people to believe I don’t care what other people think, deep down inside I did and sometimes do. This would seem ironic to people who knew me at the time that I had blue and purple hair. I lived and live with self doubt, although I have gotten much better with time. I do believe growing up in certain cultures that put so much weight on other people’s opinion plays a role as well. However, I recognize that when people state their opinion often times they are project their fears onto you. Part of what helped me overcome this belief is seeing real world examples of people starting businesses and living their life despite what others thought. I found several small business on TikTok that were doing amazing and I thought if they can do it so can I. I started this business for me and I continue it for the amazing people that have purchased from my shop. the joy and the smiles on their faces keeps me going and I don’t want to let them or myself down.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.loveandwonder.co
• Instagram: loveandwonderco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-k-rivera/
• Twitter: loveandwonderco
• Other: TikTok: loveandwonderco

Image Credits
All the images were taken by me in either selfie mode or with a remote.