We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sergio & Naomi Rios. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sergio & Naomi below.

Sergio & Naomi, appreciate you joining us 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?

River & Oak was actually not our original name! We were originally SNR Designs (Sergio Naomi Rios Designs). SNR was a temporary name until we could decide on what we wanted longterm.

Seguin, Texas is the place we call home. It is the place we married and bought our first home. It is where my son lost his first tooth and started school. It is where my daughter was born, took her first steps, and started talking. It is home to the beautiful Blackjack Oak trees, the Guadalupe River, and a wonderful community of people. What name could be more fitting for us than River & Oak? An ode to our home and our most special memories.

Sergio & Naomi, 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?

To give a little background, we are a home-based husband and wife team with two wonderful children and one on the way living in Seguin, TX.

Owning our own business has always been in our hearts to do. It’s been quite a journey! In 2021, River & Oak was born. We started selling our goods to our family’s storefront, Primitive Design Company in Seguin, TX. Sadly, their storefront did not last due to covid and the economic decline. Even with the closure, we still wanted to pursue our business. Our goal is to build a life not only doing something we love, but to build a legacy that can be passed on for generations. We love our products and sharing them with others who love them just as much as we do! It’s truly a blessing to be able to do what we love, and we pray each day to continue to grow. While we currently do not have a storefront of our own, it is definitely a goal! Until then, we love attending Farmer’s Markets and selling our products online!

Sergio is our oh so talented leather guy! He specializes in handcrafted leather goods ranging from coasters to wallets, and handbags. He cuts, dyes, and beautifully stitches everything by hand. He is truly a natural and a master of his craft. He is a meticulous worker, a perfectionist, extremely creative and one of the most friendly humans ever! Leatherwork to him, is a calming escape after a long day at his full time job. Sergio loves to get creative with custom orders for clients! Our beautifully handcrafted leather items are durable and made to last. Each piece is unique to the last, as no two of our quality leather hides are the same. We make sure to always handle our leather hides with care. On occasion, we will obtain a piece with a cattle brand (we actually LOVE finding a brand, you’ll see that in some of our pieces).

Naomi is our awesome candle lady! She specializes in hand-poured coco-apricot blend candles, wax melts, and room sprays. She absolutely loves being a chandler and being able to make people happy with the simple light of a wick. She puts a lot of thought and love into her products. Her goal is to make your home a place you never want to leave, and a place where people always give a compliment. Using wooden wicks was very important to her when deciding to pursue a career as a chandler. Wooden wicks not only give the most amazing crackling sound and soft glow as they burn, but they are sustainable and clean burning. It as also important to her to be different when it came the wax. You can find soy candles just about anywhere, but what about Coconut Apricot Wax? Our wax is skin safe, clean burning, biodegradable, gluten free, toxin free, paraben free, phthalate free, vegan, and comes from renewable sources. Wow! That was a mouthful! Naomi loves to get creative with scent blends, candle collections, and customize candles just for you! As a stay at home mom, Naomi also finds candle making a much needed escape from all the craziness! Its so calming and really puts her mind at ease. Her goal for 2022 is to start a skin/body care line ranging from body butters to beard balm. In addition to being our chandler, Naomi also handles all of the marketing and accounting for our business.

Because we want our business to continue long after we are gone, we make it a point to include the kiddos. Our children, Colton and Ella, love to watch Mommy and Daddy work! Colton, the oldest, absolutely loves the science behind candle making! Just like his Momma! He is so creative and loves to help where he can. Ella, our youngest, LOVES to smell all the leather and knows how to use some of the leather-working tools thanks to Daddy! They’ll be taking over in no time!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honestly, attending Farmer’s Markets and other vendor events has not only built our reputation, but grown our clientele tremendously. Having the opportunity to meet individuals, let those potential clients see the quality of our work in person, and having meaningful conversations, to build those relationships has definitely increased interest and business,

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

In addition to attending markets, the attention we get through word of mouth alone is astounding! We believe it can make or break any business. You want your clients to recommend you based on the quality of your work and customer service. It is the most amazing feeling to hear you were chosen for a project or wholesale opportunity because of another client. We strive to be the best, and so far it’s been a success! Word of mouth is the reason we are here doing this awesome interview with you all!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.riverandoaktx.com
• Instagram: @riverandoaktx
• Facebook: @riverandoaktx
• Linkedin: linktr.ee/riverandoaktx

Image Credits
Sergio & Naomi Rios