We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paulina Webb. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paulina below.

Paulina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea of Luca Love through a series of personal discoveries and experiences. While I was a student at the University of Houston I became involved in a Southeast Asia study abroad project. This trip taught me how to use my career in business to help improve peoples lives. This sparked a huge desire to pursue a life of which I’d use the tools I had to help create opportunities for others.

My parents are from Medellin, Colombia and naturally I grew up in a world that believed only negative things came out of this country. Our image was tainted due to violence and evil, and it hurt me to know that people were blinded of the true beauty and magic within Colombia. Upon graduation, the pressure of defining my future was at an all time high. I had interviews and job opportunities presented to me, but none made me feel passionate. As I had learned from my study abroad, I needed to find true meaning and purpose behind the work I did. Around this time I picked up the book, “Start Something that Matters” by Tom Mycoskie, founder of TOMS. It was a great read that led me into the direction of starting my own business and connecting all of the things that I was passionate about. I had never felt so excited. This new endeavor was all I could think about… Business, Colombia, helping others, community, art, creativity, etc. It’s like I had a blank canvas of endless posibilites. I chose to start off with teaching Colombian women a trade (making jewelry) and selling the products in the US. We’d use funds created to help sponsor projects that gave back to the community. It wasn’t until a few years down the line that we decided to focus on education and creating our very own English program for kids in Colombia. The idea of Luca continues to grow and evolve while maintaining its true purpose.

Paulina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The entrepreneurial spirit has always been a part of me. When I was little I played business. I’d partner with my neighbor/ best friend Katie and sister Daniela to come up with ideas on how to make money. What excited me the most was coming up with ideas and making them happen. I later attended the University of Houston Bauer College of Business and graduated with a bachelors in Management Information Systems. After graduation I decided to stick with my gut and start my own business, Luca Love.

At Luca we create purpose-driven, handcrafted jewelry that empowers all people to experience the highest version of themselves. Our processes are heavily focused on community. Not only do we believe it’s possible; it is our responsibility as
a brand (and as humans) to positively impact every person and situation we encounter. Currently, our areas of focus are employment and education in Colombia. We work with five highly skilled artisan women and provide free English Education in the rural school of La Esmeralda (Marinilla, Colombia).

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I was a broke college graduate that was fueled by passion and optimism. I started Luca with $100 dollars, which supplied me with 20 bracelets to begin my business. I sold them all in one night and put everything back into the business to keep growing it. Slowly but surely it’s how we’ve grown to what we are today. Throughout the years I’ve only used small loans from my parents and husband to keep us afloat during hard times or for growth spurts. I have personally really appreciated growing and learning alongside the business.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

We have a team of 5 amazing women, led by my mother, that hand make our accessories. We had no idea what we were doing or getting into when we started. Mom began by taking a small macrame class in Medellin and when she mastered our signature bracelet she then began teaching other women how to make them. We have walked every corner of the commerce centre of Medellin finding the best vendors to supply us with the materials we use. It all started with trial an error until we found the right fit. We have recently expanded our vendor list and also purchase materials from a local business in Austin, TX.

For us, growth has been the most difficult part of manufacturing. For the most part we have only created small batch products, so learning how to expand our manufacturing processes efficiently and effectively has been most challenging. Our top lessons have been to create a close relationship with our vendors and production team and to plan and prepare with months to spare in order to have time to test and solidify new launches.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.luca-love.com
• Instagram: @lucalovebracelets
• Facebook: @lucalovebracelets
• Youtube: LucaLoveBracelets
• Other: TikTok: Lucaloveco