Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Arenas Alegre.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elizabeth. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My husband and I moved to McKinney, TX about a year ago from Miami, FL. Needless to say, I had a lot of extra time on my hands initially. I decided to start a little project which is now Under The Pergola creating gifts and charcuterie boards. I was so torn at first, wondering whether putting my together the two things I really enjoyed doing, creating personalized gifts and making charcuterie boards, would be weird. I spoke to a couple small business owners and everyone said go for both, you could always change it along the way.
As far as the gifting side, I have always loved gifting but gifting something that that person will really enjoy. I’m just not the gift card type person, I like intention, collecting several items and presenting them in a beautiful and unique way. The charcuterie board side of the project goes back far into my childhood. My parents use to have gatherings all the time when I was a kid, the kids would munch on some “kid snacks” as an appetizer while the adults had a ridiculous spread of manchego and gouda with Spanish chorizo and Jamon Iberico… guess where this kid was at? I could sit and eat that all day (and drink coffee, my other love).
When I moved in with my husband I continued the tradition and always had a board when we had family or friends over. Maybe it’s part of my Hispanic/Cuban background, but food is everything and sharing that amongst friends and family is always special. I found that putting thought and creativity into making a board was peaceful and something I enjoyed very much. I think that what I love about both products is the liberty and creativity clients give me to produce something new and unique for them. It was out of my comfort zone to ever do anything like this and I thought, well I have nothing to lose if I try.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest struggles I have had is not knowing that many people since we are new to North Dallas. In Miami, I feel like I knew everyone! I find that here I have had to go out of my way to introduce myself to people and businesses, explaining what I have to offer. I mean it sounds like something normal to do but again I’m in a whole new world here. It has been an experience to put myself out there, not knowing if people would “get it” or appreciate what I do. I have learned from every experience up to now, that’s for sure. I have met some great local business owners who have supported me and given me great advice. I have even been able to connect with some small businesses in Miami to discuss business plans, that has been very helpful as well.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Under The Pergola is made up of two things: curated gifts and charcuterie boards. I create gifts for all occasions, including corporate gifts and wedding welcome gifts. All gifts are unique and personal to the recipient’s likes, depending what information is provided to me. The charcuterie boards are created to the liking of the customer. I do have some staples which I love, but I make sure to run those by my clients so that they enjoy the end product. Overall I try to incorporate local products and work with other small businesses to help promote and spread the love.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to establish relationships with other small businesses and have “go-to” products that become staples in my gift boxes and charcuterie boards. Creating these relationships would make my creative process more efficient. I would also like to eventually create a website to display all products.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 786-395-8017
- Email: underthepergola5@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/underthepergola?igshid=1y1q8jvjw7ltj
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