We recently connected with Leslie Cruz and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you find your key vendor or vendors? Maybe you can share the backstory and share some context and the relevant details to help us understand why you chose them, why they chose you, etc.

I have always been a big fan of the product I sell. Spending countless hours walking around at different markets with my grandma allowed me to meet a lot of vendors and makers whom I built relationships with. These close relationships made it easy for me to get directed to the right place when I needed a larger amount of items for my shop. I have to give my grandma the most credit for the success of these relationships, at 88 she was definitely the queen of public relations, they loved her so much and through her they learned to love and trust me as well.

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

One could say that SaviaGuate was born from my joy in sharing souvenirs from trips to my country with co-workers. With time friends and family began requesting these items which ultimately led to a business. The truth is that SaviaGuate has been brewing for much, much longer. I grew up in a household of women entrepreneurs and artisans who have been hand crafting items ever since I can remember. This upbringing has instilled in me a deep love and appreciation for my culture and the tenacity it takes to create something by hand.

The mission of my brand SaviaGuate is to bring the story behind each artisan craft to light and through that continue to empower the indigenous people of Guatemala while raising overall awareness of this beautiful country rich in creativity and color.

I want to be able to educate people about the beauty of Guatemala, its people and the amazing textiles women from different villages create with very minimum sources. Show the public a different face of Guatemala, so they don’t have this bad image the news like to present.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In March 2020 when the pandemic hit, I was unable to go to pop-ups or farmers markets to sell my product, online sales were very slow, almost nonexistent. I decided to make face masks with Mayan fabric, listed 5 on my Esty shop and they sold immediately, made 10 more and the same thing happened, since other items weren’t selling, I decided to turn all sort of fabric product into facemasks, I started cutting table runners, pillowcases, tops, napkins etc. and make facemasks. At the time I was one of the few people selling facemasks with that particular fabric, so anything I listed sold immediately. I owe the success of my online business to the pandemic; thanks to the very original facemasks I was selling people discovered my business and from there many stayed as loyal customers even after the pandemic.

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

I was raised by 3 very skilled, hard-working women. They were always working hard to make ends meet, they thought me the benefits of working hard, save money, invest it and work hard to make it grow even more. I had always had the idea that working really hard was the only way to reach your goals: and although that’s partially true I had to learn that there are other ways to success. You still have to put in the work, but there are methods you can use without over working yourself. I’ve unlearned that working hard is the only way, now I know I can work smarter and reach even higher goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saviaguate.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saviaguate/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guatesavia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-saviaguate
• Twitter: Savia_guate
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaviaGuate https://www.tiktok.com/@saviaguate

Image Credits
Photo taken by Michelle Espinoza from Photography by Michellee as part of a Collaboration between her brand and SaviaGuate, you can find her on instagram @photographybymichellee