Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Evelyn Martinez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Evelyn, appreciate you joining us today. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.

Every year, I’ve donated either a percentage of my sales of a specific line of products or I’ve offered special products for raffles benefiting non-profits that work with undocumented people and trans women. In 2021, one of my dear friends from college started doing working with a trans women collective based in Honduras. They were in need of funds to pay for trans women’s medication, food, shelter and basic necessities since many trans communities in Latin America were left out of relief programs during the beginning of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. I thought, maybe I could make some earrings that offer the sales profit of that product as a donation to Mujeres Trans Honduras. I’ve also made necklaces, earrings and custom cellphone charms to benefit the New York State Youth Leadership Council, an organization that serves undocumented youth with programming in education, advocacy, and more.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey everyone, my name is Evelyn Martinez. I’m a queer Xicana (Mexican-American) creative based in the Bronx, NY. The chaos of 2020 brought me to the e-commerce and jewelry making worlds.

We were in our last month of lockdown and I was at home looking through some items I’d ordered online that were originally going to be used to embellish t-shirts.

I’ve been a professional photographer since 2017 and at one point I wanted to make some cool merch to sell with my photographs printed onto them. I wanted to embellish those t-shirts with my photographs but when I executed the idea, it fell short on how I wanted it to look and feel. So that idea was scrapped.

Jumping back to 2020, I repurposed those beads to make earrings, for fun. I asked a couple of friends through Instagram DM if they wanted a pair and what colors they wanted. All of my excess time hands went into staying up late trying to make some cute creations. They were simple earrings and deep down I was a little embarrassed that they weren’t the best but they literally couldn’t be because I was just beginning. I wasn’t the “launch when ready” kind of business person. I wasn’t even going to sell earrings actually. It was my younger sister exclaimed that I had better not be making earrings for free. She told me to open up an Etsy shop and get to selling. I took her idea seriously and then took myself seriously.

I reopened my online store and started posting videos of me making earrings. Now, three years later, I am thankfully still in business and have found some signature jewelry collections and accessories that will be classics. For example, at this moment I am rolling out my Fall 2023 Muertitos collection. My Muertitos are figurine earrings that are my interpretation of celebrating our dead through self-adornment. When I first started my jewelry business, under my brand universe Xicanayork, I knew I wanted to make Day of the Dead jewelry but I just couldn’t execute it. I tried in the Fall of 2020 but they just didn’t scratch that creative itch. Then in the late summer of 2021, through experimentation, I created the first Muertitos Earring and it’s been history ever since.

Being a small business owner in the world of e-commerce is definitely not for the weak. I’ve had to learn so much through making mistakes and looking for resources/guidance online. What I am most proud of is the way I come even more alive when I get to vend and meet the people who buy my products. From older women who stop by to get earrings that bring them nostalgia of their home countries, to the teens who want to get something cute for a date, my customers and their stories definitely remind me of the core human needs of wanting to connect, wanting to feel seen, wanting to feel good about yourself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Towards the middle of 2021, I realized that my sales were decent but not doing as well as my first 6 months of business. One of my besties was also starting up her own business and one day she asked me if I wanted to vend in person. I’d never done that and it somewhat terrified me. Though internally I was scared, I knew I had to make the effort to try and to do well! So we popped up in downtown Manhattan outside of the Union Square Farmers Market to vend with other street vendors. At first, I was painfully shy but I had to remind myself to have fun and to let things slide off my back. So each time we went to vend, we got better! And business began to boom again! Of course there were difficulties but vending outside really brought into perspective the teamwork necessary to be a successful vendor.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I now sell on my site. I use a platform called Format which specializes in website building for photographers. Curious enough, in 2020 or 2019, they added a online store feature which I continue to use. I actually had a Shopify Store for a bit but people visited my Format online store more than they visited the Shopify store so I closed it a few months ago.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.xicanayork.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xicanayork/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xicanayork/

Image Credits
Photographer: Evelyn Martinez @xicanayork