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

Mia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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.

This is the essence of our vision – Dirty Sanchez Enterprise – where creative spirits bloom into the universal garden. We believe the fusion of art and personal health awareness may inspire others to reach beyond their own limits. As two Afro-Latina deaf owners who share the surname Sanchez, we embrace the chance to reinvent its meaning of Dirty Sanchez. We shed limiting labels and rewrite our own story. For when we share openly, stigma loses its grip. When we listen deeply to our passions, the idea expands. We have the social media platform and online store to earn profits for an art cafe in Morocco, Africa. We want to build an art cafe there as a gathering space for kindred souls from all walks of life. Here, we revel in our shared humanity and honor each person discovering their uniqueness. Canvas, clay, paints, recycled items, gardens, and more become the tools through which we give voice to our inner world and spread kindness to the outer world.
We want to inspire others to create fearlessly and discover joy within themselves. With each art product, workshop, conversation and connection, we aim to plant seeds into the dirt of problems and challenges – to heal, grow, and help change this world for the better. Let this community-based business and art cafe become the milky way where creative spirits are nourished. For when souls bloom together, our collective garden is so much more beautiful.

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

Though the journey ahead is long, we remain determined to bring our galaxy-themed art vision to vibrant life. As Deaf Afro-Latina business owners, we may not have much financial backing, but our dreams are boundless. We sell fantastical art products and provide educational videos accessible to all through American Sign Langauge (ASL) and English captioning. Soon, we’ll share mesmerizing art tutorials and ASL storytelling to inspire human kindness. Our ultimate goal is renovating an art cafe in Morocco where we can unite communities through paint workshops, recycled art gardens, and more. The path to success rarely runs smooth, but we have faith. Each day we inch closer to turning passion into purpose, using art to empower and bring people together. Though challenges remain, our spirits are high. We will get there.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When the global pandemic happened in 2020, we found ourselves at a crossroads. Though the pandemic brought uncertainty for so many, we saw a sliver of light peeking through – a chance to nurture our creative spirits and share our artistic gifts.

As we hunkered down at home, we dusted off long-forgotten passions. Markers, pencils, paints, and brushes in hand, we brought colorful visions to life on canvas. With each stroke, our souls felt a little lighter. We posted our art online, not knowing what would come of it. To our surprise, orders rolled in.

Turns out, people needed hope just as much as we did. Our little art hustle quickly turned into a fledgling business we affectionately named Dirty Sanchez Enterprise. Through it, we made heartfelt connections that continue to uplift us to this day.

This experience taught us to always look for the silver linings, even in life’s darkest storms. When you follow your bliss, beautiful things can grow. Our art is how we spread more light, and our business is how we keep those creative flames burning bright. The world may seem cold and lonely at times, but with just a spark of human kindness, we can warm it right up.

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

Gayle Sanchez and I, Mia Sanchez, do have a lot in common. We are the only Deaf persons in our Hearing families. Growing up, we weathered storms of challenges and found refuge into art. We learned how to break down the barriers of our life journeys – our womanhood, our colors, our disabled voices, our artistry. When we met at college, we both agreed that art became our therapy, our catharsis, our truth-telling. We do not need the world’s approval, wealth or fame. We both enjoy traveling around the world to nourish humanity by uplifting the overlooked and the undeserved ones. For that, we knew that ache of invisibility. Although we may be Deaf and cannot “hear” the sounds of knowledge, our curiosity paved the way for life’s mysteries. Our faith give us the unwavering motivation. We built Dirty Sanchez to stir souls, to unleash power through art and personal health awareness. Our passion for art is the symbol resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dirtysanchezenterprise.com
• Instagram: @dirtysanchezenterprise
• Facebook: Dirty Sanchez Enterprise
• Other: gofund.me/55036a13

Image Credits
Mia Sanchez and Gayle Sanchez