Today we’d like to introduce you to Arisdelci Alatorre.
Arisdelci, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Being a Mexican living in the US as an undocumented adult has always been a struggle. Graduating from High school not knowing what step to take next was a constant thing on my mind. I had my son and working under the table had become a thing for me. Although those jobs never paid much I always worked my butt off. If you ask me, I was emotionally stressed because not only did I work a minimum paying job but I considered myself “American” enough to be able to work a ” Normal job” that paid me enough to live a “normal” life and let me raise my son but legal document prices seemed impossible, Life has surely been a roller coaster, I had finally saved up enough funds for DACA and our president removed it and at that I told myself I had to do something, I had to change my mentality I had to change the way I thought about myself, I had to prove to my son that you can really do anything No matter what the circumstances we face. I went from doing photography to being a MUA and I just didn’t have that drive so I waited a couple more years, worked another minimum hard work paying job and while I prayed for direction, Houston with a Tee came to me like a lightning.
Hanging out with downtown locals seeing how much they enjoyed what they were doing, seeing how much they love Houston, hearing their stories of what moved them to take that leap of faith to start their business is really what inspired me to go for what I knew I had in me, my drive, motivation, eager to work and show my son that his mom can do anything. So In May of 2019 I started Houston with a Tee, already a Tee collector designing some pretty cool Htown Tees gave me life! I did all the research that I needed to know to start and from that day everything slowly started to come together. I slowly went from hearing “No mam, I’m sorry we can’t help you” to ” Yes mam we can make this happen for you” and from then here I am. Recently had my first event and seeing Houstonians love my Tees was an absolute reminder that my prayers had been heard. I’m not where I want to be yet, but slowly getting there and I’m thrilled to say I have so many more things on my goal list to scratch off.
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?
Challenges I’ve faced in life are the challenges always have been my legal status. Not having a social security really closed a lot of doors for me so I had to make a plan for me and my sons future.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Houston with a Tee – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I came up with Houston with a Tee, and I am a small business owner, I feel intimidated filling this questionnaire because I am new to this and I’ve been taking my time with every step and choice I make but I am known for having good taste and having a simple and cool style. So that’s how I come with my designs, I am all Houston based so all my T-shirts have a design with Houstons name or anything that shows H-town pride.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m planning to upgrade my quality tee shirts, I plan on growing my collection and using the vendor opportunity to put my name and my t-shirts out there. Create a website and go from there because the sky is the limit!
Pricing:
- All tees are $25
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Houstonwithatee
Image Credit:
@jenniferrosasphotography
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