Today we’d like to introduce you to Tessa Mugica Montana.
Tessa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am originally from Spain, graduated from The University of Navarra with a Law School degree from the prestigious IE Business School in Madrid Masters in Marketing Management, and El Centro College with an Interior Design Degree. I founded 15 years ago Tessa Mugica LLC, helping clinics, spas, restaurants and retail stores in Dallas, Mexico and Spain with their concept development, branding and interior design. I was editor of art and design for Nexos Magazine, worked as an international marketing manager for Graphiroma in Italy, and as a franchising developer for Cortefiel Fashion Group in Spain. I was the Vice President of Product Design, Creative and Marketing for Wisteria, a multi-channel online-catalog-retail based Home furnishing company with more than 5 million catalogs distributed throughout the US every year. I lived in Spain, Italy, France, England, Mexico City and the US and traveled throughout Asia treasure hunting.
After many years traveling around the world getting to know the best artisans by its right, my passion for creating beauty lead me in 2011 to create my line of limited edition Leather Hand Bags and accessories.
Today, I have an interior design studio and a leather atelier in my garage in Dallas, where I create one of a kind handbags. This is my true passion. I believe in the artisan work and the mystic of craftsmanship, that I am learning and applying every day.
Has it been a smooth road?
I was 25 when I left my job in the corporate fashion world in Madrid and moved to Rome, taking with me one small luggage and with money to survive for two months. I ended up leaving there for three years and changed the whole path of my destiny. This is what I call the power of one decision. Just one decision, without looking back, is all it takes to change your life. That decision is just one step but opens up a new world of options that you could not see they were there before. The fear of the unknown is the one thing that prevents us from making decisions many times, as well as the fear of failing. The sooner you take one decision and experience what happens next in your life, the sooner you will realize the power that you have in directing your life. I was 25 when I left my country, Spain, without knowing I would never come back to live there, which means that.
For almost half of my life now, I have been living around the world, I have been the outsider, the one with the foreign accent, the one with different look, experiences and perspectives. I have created a reality that works for me, taking the best of each culture and country, and simply ignoring whatever doesn’t make me grow as a person. You see, our personal and spiritual development should be a priority in our lives. Professional development is just a mean to achieve that personal-spiritual development. There is nothing more personal than professional life, and nothing more serious and professional than your personal life. It seems like a paradox, but when you think about it, this is the way it should be. We don’t plan on our personal goals, our spiritual development. We don’t make time to do nothing, to reflect on our lives, to reflect whether we are where we suppose to be, and doing what we suppose to be doing, to reflect on the people that surround us, and to reflect on God. I try to reposition myself constantly, sometimes it is exhausting, you feel misunderstood and alone on this path, but the truth is that today’s world requires flexible minds to succeed and to evolve. Live is a pilgrimage, so your feet and soul should always be looking and questing without settling too much.
Please tell us about your company.
Tessa Mugica Design Studio is a European interior and product design boutique company specialized in high-end residential, hospitality interior design, and small boutique events (up to 100 guests) with more than 15 years of experience. Our team of creative and integrated thinkers will make sure your concept becomes a cohesive, unique and successful reality that generates a one of a kind experience. We are a Dallas, a locally based company with international vocation and projects in the US, Mexico and Spain. The Lead Designer is an advocate for artisans and has created a leather atelier in her garage, where one of a kind leather handbags are created by appointment only.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Dallas has changed in the last 15 years for the best. I love the Arts District Down Town, the diversity and cultural activities that are offered like the Winspear Opera house, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Dallas Museum of art (DMA), the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Nasher Sculpture Museum, The ballet and theatre. Still, my favorite activity is going to the independent and international movies at the Angelika Dallas. I love our Design District downtown, full of international and national showrooms, antique shops, as well as our WTC just in front of the Design District. I live close by so it makes it so convenient. My favorite place to eat informal brunch is in Oaklawn and is called Zaguan Latin Bakery and for lunch Bistro 31 in Highland Park Village. You will see me for dinner in a tiny Vietnamese restaurant called Mot Hai Ba.
Despite the increase of cultural, retail and restaurants offered in Dallas, the mentality in general (of course there is always more than welcome exceptions) tends to be “provincial” with people that have not international experience and base all their sophistication on a couple of trips to New York a year. Thank goodness this is changing and people with international backgrounds and/ or real international experiences are moving to Dallas. Fortunately, Dallas younger generations are part of this last group, even if just from an aspirational point of view.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tessamugica.com
- Phone: 9729001450
- Email: tessamugica@gmail.om
- Instagram: tessa.mugica
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