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

Sienna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

At the start of the pandemic we took some time to think deeply about our actions both as a company and as individuals. We felt like it was an important moment to consider ways we could engage with the world in new ways. There was a powerful article by Arundhati Roy, an Indian author, written around this time that encouraged us all to see the crisis as a ‘portal’ one to step through and in doing so, change everything. As a business we recognized that we had access to two types of currency, one was financial and one was social. Our goal was to mobilize as much of both as we could to contribute to the new world we had ‘stepped into’. Identifying four areas that we intersected with as Fortuna we launched a merchandise line to mobilize our currency. Working with an independant collective of artists, we designed and printed our first line of t-shirts, tote bags and bandanas. We also worked with a black owned enamel pin producer out of Louisiana to launch a pin. 100% of the profit form all four of these merchandise products were reinvested into radical community doing the difficult work towards change. All profits from our t-shirts are reinvested into the movement to document the missing and murdered indigenous women, children and two spirits of these so called United States. 100% of the profits from our tote bags are reinvested in the movement to stop family detention at our political border with what is now Mexico and all of the profit from the sale of our bandanas are reinvested in supporting independent journalism in Mexico documenting the struggle of families against the femicide epidemic. The profits from our Justice pin are reinvested into the work being done to heal the harms caused by the racist war on drugs and was launched in collaboration with our partners Boulders 14er with whom we produce a THC infused chocolate.

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

We are a bicultural family business that engages a conversation about borders and craft. As chocolate makers we work with collectives of indigenous cacao farmers in Mexico, the motherland of chocolate. We believe that delicious chocolate is a result of sovereign communities and thriving land and we envision ourselves a a part of the legacy that has brought chocolate to the global table. As a family that crosses borders we seek to share the diverse culture of craft in Mexico that we love with people in the United States. We hope to engage a conversation about the relationship between the two countries that contributes to building respect and reverence for each other. Creativity is a human universal, a language that communicates across borders and throughout time. Some of the artisans we share with our customers are part of a lineage that dates back thousands of years, techniques that deserve our respect and honor.

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

As a small business many times the advice is to take any opportunity that shows up and to prioritize working time over all else. There is a mentality of growth that has no end that more is always more. We have learned that in fact setting up boundaries to protect the time you have with your family and for personal goals or endeavors that are not monetized actually leads to more, more life. As a result we have experimented with all kinds of radical ‘work’ schedules and we have found that productivity actually increases with more time away from work related tasks.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Over the years we have developed a newsletter. Each edition includes an inspiring book, an alternative media source and a musician that we admire. We see our newsletter as a chance to deepen the relationship and conversation we have with our customers. Many customers reply to the newsletter with questions or comments about what we send out and that is a favorite moment for us to engage and to learn about our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fortuna-chocolate.com
• Instagram: @fortuna_chocolate
• Facebook: @fortunachocolateboulder

Image Credits
They are all taken by me :)