We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gianella Brewer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gianella, 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?
I wanted the name of my company to sound professional but did not want it to miss the personal connection with people, because when you invite someone to your house you want them to be comfortable. You want to make your guest feel special. So, Casa Gianella LLC is that store that you can enter feeling welcomed and choose the best quality and uniquely designed items for your home and family. I wanted to feel a personal connection with my customers, so I put my own name in the title of my business.
Gianella, 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?
I started to notice that when i was wearing my imported hats a lot of people would say how much they loved them! The hats are Hand-made and hand beaded hats from the Huichol artisans in Mexico, so i thought why not start to sell them and the other items from my heritage that i love? I’m from Mexico and we have a lot of different artisans of all the different regions of Mexico. I loved all the artisanal items, so everything that i buy to place in my store is because it’s an item I love and would put in my own house!!!! I make custom designs as well. I hand paint buffaloes and kokopelli figures as well as others that customers may request. To me it is so much more than a business I want people to know the effort, love of the hands that are involved in every item that they buy. So they love it too!!!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Going to different events, shows….
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
I don’t manufacture my own products but its very interesting the story of how I find them. First, I have to see the products with my own eyes, Second, to meet the artisans who make the products, talk to them and negotiate a good price for every item and for wholesale pricing, then I figure out the shipping, so when i go to Mexico i always bring 2 boxes full back and if someone goes with me they bring 2 more boxes so the shipping its $30 dollars not $500 or more. The important thing to my business is keeping the expenses low for the shipping, because if it’s too high it can create a big issue in your bottom line.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casagianella/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casagianellawestern