Today we’d like to introduce you to Janie Mata.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Janie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I guess I would say our Lil business started with selling t-shirts at a Selena event. I had been obsessed with tie-dye at the moment so I thought why not make a tie-dye Selena shirt?! That was the first event that I did myself, well with the help of some family. But before then I would get inspired at markets that my cousin (Mylan Nguyen) would do and thought “well, I wanna do that”. And with a little push from my mom, we started doing more markets with stuff that I make. Currently, the items that I make by hand are my crochet items, my prints, punch needle and embroidery.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say it’s been a smooth road with a couple bumps. I feel like the bumps in the road were just figuring out what works and what doesn’t work for that certain market. Also, I learned to not take things personally when people don’t buy from you. Sometimes you have a good market day and then other times you don’t sell much. I just try to look on the bright side and am happy to just meet new people and connect with other vendors.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
This small business does everything and sells everything. I don’t like to be limited to one thing. I’ve never been someone that just sticks to one thing. I enjoy learning new crafts and perfecting them. I then carry that knowledge and move on to the next thing. I learned how to crochet, punch needle, print make and I’m currently learning how to make woven wall hangings. I feel like what I’m known for is my crocheted cacti. Those are my babies. “The plant you can’t kill” is what we say.
I feel like what sets us apart from other businesses is that we carry so many different things and from different artists too. We also get new “inventory” constantly. So when people come to see me they always get to see something new on our table.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The best thing about Dallas is its vast diversity of events and available activities. The thing I like least is the amount of traffic and road construction as well as bad road conditions. If we could just get our roads together we’d be ok.
Pricing:
- Tie dye Selena shirts $15
- Prints $5
- Crochet Cacti $20-$30
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2146793144
- Email: dulcedreamsco@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dulcedreamsco
Image Credit:
All photos are taken by me Janie Mata or my mom Janie Hernandez
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