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mandana blvd.
Wicker furniture and bohemian styles define this vintage Oakland-based brand. Started by couple Cristina Ramos and Nu Goteh, the furniture company will put you one step closer to the apartment of your dreams.
Shop here.
30 Latino-Owned Businesses to Support This Holiday Season
Art by Alan López for Remezcla
“Put your money where your mouth is” is an expression for a reason; the way we spend our hard-earned cash is a way to demonstrate what we truly value and support. It’s why the city of Oakland, for example, won’t contract with any businesses working on Donald Trump’s border wall. That’s why, as the holidays roll around, we’re encouraging you to back Latino-owned businesses. It’s a simple way to show solidarity in what has been a turbulent year for communities of color.
According to a Stanford Graduate School of Business survey, Latinos created 86 percent of new businesses launched between 2007 and 2012. However, they lagged far behind non-Latino business owners in revenue. In 2012, Latinos earned $155,806, compared to non-Latinos’ $573,209. As we gear up for the holiday spending frenzy – this year, Americans may spend about $478 on gifts for family, the National Retail Federation reports) – we can channel that money right into our own communities.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 30 Latino-owned businesses you can support (and impress your loved ones with) this holiday season:
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Babe Comets
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaUORcGjk7D/?taken-by=babecomets
Babe Comets is a Brooklyn-based earring company started by an Afro-Latina designer. The beautiful colors and landscapes of Merida inspired Joan De Jesus to begin Babe Comets. The earrings, which are made for pierced and unpierced ears, are colorful and lightweight.
Shop here.
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Oh Comadre Candles
By day, she’s a full-time wound nurse. By night, Marcella Gómez is the one-woman force behind the thriving Oh Comadre Candles, an online shop that sells about 40 different types of candles. These aren’t your basic vanilla, lemon, or fresh linen-scented candles. Instead, Gómez makes items that speak about her experiences as a Latina. Her shop is filled with products named Lucha Libre (a black candle that smells like fresh leather and vanilla), Horchata (one that will evoke memories of the classic cinnamon-spiced drink), and Vicky’s Vapo Candle (inspired by the product that has become Latinos’ cure-all remedy).
Shop here.
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The Pin Mix
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbn3xa7nWxt/?taken-by=thepinmix
This Brooklyn-based shop specializes in pins that touch on everything from pop culture to your favorite hobbies.
Shop here.
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Sally Torres Vega
In 2008, Sally Torres Vega debuted her slow fashion line. Incorporating natural fibers and sculpture-like silhouettes, the Puerto Rican brand will fill your closet with cozy separates.
Shop here.
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Cha Cha Covers
If they can fit on your nail, then chances are Cha Cha Covers has a nail wrap for it. Ana Guajardo runs the flourishing shop, which features so many of your favorite pop culture moments.
Shop here.
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GRL TRBL
Journalist-turned-illustrator Emerald Pellot’s GRL TRBL is dedicated to empowering women. As an Afro Latina of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, her art, which she describes as “kitschy,” is all about uplifting women of color. Using politics and pop culture as a reference – Congresswoman Maxine Waters, The Craft, and Beyoncé – she spreads feminist messages.
Shop here.
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The Hood Witch
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcBa1P1jeZD/?taken-by=thehoodwitch
The Hoodwitch is all about providing “everyday magic for the modern mystic.”
Shop here.
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Yaocihuatl Organic
Made with organic and vegan products, Yaocihuatl is inspired by ancient natural beauty traditions. With items like the Winter Rescue Face Cream and Glowing Sugar Face Scrub, this shop carries items to give your skin some TLC year round.
Shop here.
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Amomati Medicinals
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGboxnht4p/?taken-by=amomatimedicinals
This organic and vegan apothecary takes cues from ancestral medicine.
Shop here.
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Naomi Romero
Illustrator Naomi Romero uses her platform to speak about living with anxiety. She has created several items meant to help those who struggle with anxiety find ways to cope. “Anxiety Fox is ready to cuddle with you during bad times and good times and remind you that you are not alone,” the site reads.
Shop here.
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Zahira Kelly
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcC5OWSAi53/?taken-by=bad_dominicana
Zahira Kelly – an illustrator and sociocritic who fights for the visibility of Afro-Latinas – sells a wide variety of items on her shop, including necklaces, prints, and home decor.
Shop here.
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Sweet Llamita
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbxTUgxlljp/?taken-by=sweetllamita
Whether you’re looking to let someone know you’re thinking of them or for a cute greeting card to accompany your gift, Sweet Llamita’s brightly colored creations have you covered.
Shop here.
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Valfré
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFthDBFyjx/?taken-by=valfre
Mexican-born designer Ilse Valfré is the former schoolteacher who has built a successful art, clothing, and accessories brand. It’s impossible to peruse Valfré’s site without mentally adding items to your wish list.
Shop here.
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Luni Jewelry
Luni Jewelry describes itself as a “contemporary jewelry line for modern goddesses.”
Shop here.
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Triangulo Swag
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbnQI2knpRf/?taken-by=trianguloswag
Everyone from Wisin to 3Ball MTY to a Who’s Who of dembowseros from DR have been spotted shopping in Triangulo Swag’s uptown NYC shop. The apparel line founded by Alfredo Perez – aka BB Inc – features a pretty extensive hat collection.
Shop here.
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Coyote Negro
Designed by Melissa Hernández, this jewelry line features geometric shapes. Many of these pieces are made by recycling sterling silver baubles.
Shop here.
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Valija
Created in 1993, Valija is a trendy Puerto Rican shop. Selling everything from purses to jewelry to dresses, it’ll add some fun to all parts of your wardrobe.
Shop here.
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The Peralta Project
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY1HvnPDCWG/?taken-by=peraltaprjct
Helmed by uptown artist and graphic designer Tony Peralta, lifestyle brand the Peralta Project is perhaps best known for the viral “Walter Mercado is My Spiritual Advisor” sweatshirt. But his store is always stocked with fresh tees, pins, pop-art prints, hats, and more – a style that represents an alloy of Dominican York, hip-hop, and Latino touchstones many of us grew up with.
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Hija de tu Madre
Hija de tu Madre is a clothing line that celebrates the “beautiful mess that is Xicanisma” and the ni de aqui, ni de alla feeling of growing up biculturally. According to their website, the shop “caters to Xicanx who bravely question everything, while reconciling our complicated history, culture, and identity. The shop and blog are for muxeres who unapologetically celebrate their colorful culture as we try to make sense of two seemingly opposing identities.”
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Born x Raised
LA is home to one of streetwear’s most important, socially conscious clothing brands. Championing Southern California Chicanx culture, indigenous heritage. and punk aesthetics, Born x Raised is known to push the boundaries of the industry.
Shop here.
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Exposition Goods
Austin artist James Barela makes beautiful modern ceramics with a hint of color. Choose from an array of minimalist porcelain planters, vases, pots, or drinkware, perfect for sipping some warm holiday drinks. Dreamsicle cups, $32.
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Pop Aesthete
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcIarJMHbCZ/?taken-by=popaesthete
Pop Aesthete is the moniker of Cristobal Saez, Chilean-American designer and illustrator. His inspirations range from telenovelas to drag queens to internet culture and his designs are created with Warholian aesthetics in mind.
Shop here.
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Golden Ponies
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcNXm8NFVqy/?hl=en&taken-by=goldenponieshoes
Since 2009, Guadalajara-based Etsy shop Golden Ponies has sold charming handmade shoes, clothing, bags, and accessories, using only vegan materials.
Shop here.
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Nalgona Positive Shop
The Nalgona Positive Shop aims to decolonize the body. “NPP’s goal is to provide comprehensive intersectional body positive information that covers topics such as historical trauma, fat-positivity, eating disorders awareness & indigeneity,” the store’s Etsy shop description reads. “Through education, social media, community outreach, an Etsy Store, and an eating disorders support group NPP is able to spread it’s message and serve as a resource for the community.”
Shop here.
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DreamHeauxApparel
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbxow5_AbUX/?hl=en&taken-by=dreamheauxapparel
Dream Heaux Apparel describes itself as a combination of “hoe” and “Mexican culture.”
Shop here.
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MicMasRemix
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcI9pqWnmdA/?hl=en&taken-by=micmasremix
The MicMas Remix tagline says it all: “Hair texture does not determine whether it’s good or bad.” The brand, started by Afro-Latina entrepreneur Adassa, features products made from all-natural ingredients.
Shop here.
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Sad Sirena Designs
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYKH0TLBSWn/?hl=en&taken-by=sadsirenashop
For creative chokers in a range of materials – from fur to lace to iridescent plastic, look no further than Sad Sirena Designs.
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Los Tejedores
Los Tejedores is a line of woven hats poised to dethrone the ubiquitous Panama hat as the flyest beach accessory to have on your head. Think: el campo meets Pharrell’s oversized Vivienne Westwood hat. The project is based in the Dominican Republic.