Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayra Aguilar.
Mayra, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
For as long as I can recall, I have been blessed with the desire to create. As a child, I remember I always enjoyed going to the store and heading directly to the school supplies section while my mother shopped. There is something about seeing school supplies and art supplies organized in a rainbow order that has always inspired me. Most of the time, I would convince my parents to buy me whatever new supplies I wanted to try out.
Creating has always been in my nature, wanting to make everything for décor and anything to give as a gift. When it comes to my education, I was never one of those people who could show up and take an exam with little to no studying and preparing for it ahead of time. I’d make flashcards using different color pens, decorate them, make my notes interesting in any way possible to make it more enjoyable for myself. I have always been a concrete, visual, learner and when it came to school projects, my teachers would often ask if they could keep mine to use as an example the following year.
Another form of art that was a huge part of my life was dance. I danced from a very early age at a dance studio, and continued onto my teen and adulthood years and even taught Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and Hip Hop during high school at a dance studio in Sugar Land, Texas. I was born in Houston and raised in Alief, Texas. Alief will always be a part of me, and no matter where life takes me, it will always be home. In high school, I was able to be fortunate enough to be the Captain of our Dance Drill Team. My favorite creative memories consist of choreography, having to make up our dances and teaching them to my peers. Painting and decorating banners for the boys’ soccer games was something I also looked forward to doing afterschool with StuCo. I grew up at a time where making and decorating huge poster boards for your friend’s birthday was the best gift you could give. Oddly enough, I never took an art class in my life.
I’ve met many people who talk about high school as being one of the least favorite experiences of their life. For me, I was lucky enough to say it was one of the best experiences of my life. While attending the University of Houston to pursue a degree in Education, I met many amazing people who shared my love for creating. As part of our graduating degree requirements, we were expected to put together lesson plans that were educational and engaging. Creating has always been a part of my life. When I started designing and creating my own funny teacher shirts, pencil shoes, etc. My friends and classmates would ask me to make some for them as well.
Eventually, some of my family and coworkers would ask why I wasn’t considering opening up an Etsy shop and sharing my creativity with others. After much thought and consideration, I opened my Etsy Shop, which grew in such a few short months and expanded to the point where I made the decision to create my own website. I wanted to have a space that was mine. Aside from becoming a teacher, I’ve always had many life goals that I’d like to accomplish, but there are two other important goals that were, owning a business and publishing a children’s book. Becoming a teacher has been another one of my favorite experiences and accomplishments. I am a First-Generation College Graduate and current grad student, and it has been both humbling and an honor to make myself and family proud.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has most definitely not been an easy road. I can’t really pinpoint one event that lead to me being where I am. I think that based on my choices, the good ones and the bad ones, I was able to be where I am needed. I am a Type 1 Enneagram and am my own worst critic. I have high expectations for myself and others around me. Putting myself through college, while working 40+ hours weekly, while having to student teach (and not getting paid for it) because it was part of my degree plan, has not been easy. I would say for most of that time during undergrad, I struggled with my mental health. Constantly feeling unworthy, beating myself up because I wasn’t satisfied with where I was, feeling a void in my life because I felt like I needed to be doing more. I do feel like I had to prove myself because of how I grew up and where I grew up.
Working while pursuing a degree for my future has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I didn’t want to be in debt the rest of my life so I didn’t take many loans at all, I had to pay for it out of pocket, and there was no way my parents could help me financially. So many times, I just wanted to drop everything and quit. Of course, I am way too stubborn to do that, so I pushed through, my resilience pushed through, my determination and grit also pushed through. Trying to balance all of that plus having a significant other while trying to be a good friend, daughter, aunt, sister, it felt so much all the time. I felt like I was drowning sometimes. I think for a while I felt frustrated that my friends and colleagues didn’t have to work as hard as me to get to where they were. They could just focus on school while I had to balance it all. It was hard, but I did it, and I think I appreciate it so much more because I worked for it.
Another struggle was realizing that, unfortunately, strangers are more likely to support you and root for you in your small business than your own family and friends. I am so lucky and feel so blessed that my immediate family has been more than supportive. I think that was hard for me because I always cheer people on, so when I realized I was doing great things, I wanted to believe that the people in my life would do the same for me. Thanks to Instagram, I connected with other teachers struggling with the same things in life that I was going through. Having other people to talk to and connect on a deeper level helped me overcome a lot of anxiety and fear that came from starting my small business.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I own CraftingbyMayraLLC, which is basically like having my own child. No one cares more about a small business than the owner. All the time and energy that goes in creating alone is hard work. I am the photographer, the customer service rep, the designer/creator, the social media manager, the person behind a website, the shipping dept, that’s all me. I am most known for making High-Quality Resin/Epoxy Tumblers for everyone. I think from the beginning, what has set me apart has been my branding and the fact that I have always been genuine and myself. I put a lot of hard work, time, and effort into my packaging. I wanted people to be so excited about getting a super cute package, or as I like to call it, Happy Mail! I have grown quickly on Instagram and have been blessed with the most supportive followers.
As a company, what I am most proud of would be the fact that it exists. Life handed me lemons left and right; I felt like I could never catch a break. I took those lemons, made some margarita, added determination and persistence to keep going. My mother always told me, “those who don’t have that will never be proud or have any type of achievements.” We all need grit and discipline. So, I’m proud of my grit. I absolutely love that I can dream up my own goals and create the freedom to make whatever I imagine.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I think the many mistakes and failures I’ve experienced in my lifetime thus far have led me to be who I am today. There is a misconception that Failure is not an option. This is false. You have to fail, over and over again to be able to truly grow as a person. I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I think that through experience and the trials that life has handed me, I have been able to inspire others. Reading an old paper of mine from 6th grade, I read that as my number 1 thing on a list of “Things I want to do when I grow up,” it was to inspire others.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.craftingbymayra.com
- Email: info@craftingbymayra.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftingbymayra
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopcraftingbymayra
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/craftingbymayra
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@craftingbymayra
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