She is described as the Latina Martha Stewart-with a dash of Oprah optimism! This week we sit down with artist, author, designer & speaker Kathy Cano-Murillo also known as Crafty Chica!!!
From having her own line at Michaels and a best-selling book, Forever Frida, Cano-Murillo has been crafting for over 20 years. You have probably followed some of her fun and culturally themed craft videos on Tik Tok, Instagram or Youtube.
In this interview she shares details about her next big project, her morning routine, and how she's taking matters into her own hands and trying to help change certain laws for the good of the blogging space. Crafty Chica is a force!
You can find her website on CraftyChica.com
Follow her on Instagram at @craftychica
Naibe Reynoso is the Host and Executive Producer of Latinas Take the Lead.
Production Assistant is Anna Sophia Monzon
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
She is described as a crafty version of Selena meets
the Hallmark Channel with a dash of Oprah optimism. She
has even had her own line at Michael's and her
book Forever Frida is a fan favorite, and if you
like crafting, you have probably heard of crafty Chica and
followed some of her fun and culturally themed craft videos
(00:30):
on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
This week's interview.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Is with artist, author, designer, and speaker Kathy Kano Murillo,
better known as crafty Chica.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It's such an honor. Thank you so much. It's so
nice to talk to you again.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You are La Madrina de las Latinas with Brandy?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Oh? Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You started crafty Chica what twenty two years ago?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yes? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
For those that.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
May not know you, what is crafti Chica and how
and why did you start it?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Crafty Chica is a lifestyle brand that celebrates Mexican craft tutorials.
Because I have always loved to make things and share them.
I got into the craft industry while I was a
newspaper columnist. Realized that it is a forty three billion
(01:31):
dollar industry and Latinos make up twenty percent of the
population in the United States, yet we are not reflected
in the craft industry. It's like the same story across
the board. So I thought by starting crafty Chica, I
could share tutorials of crafts and DIY projects that were
(01:53):
trending all across the country and give them a Latin spin.
I'm third generation Mexican American. I'm a fourth generation maker
in my I come from a family of tinkerers and makers,
and I just thought it would be a great way
to represent our culture in the industry. And it led
(02:13):
to so many amazing things of people using tutorials to
make extra money to buy school supplies for their kids,
or to just make party favors for a wedding, or
just for mental health, to make something to relax, to journal.
There's so many aspects to it, and here it is
(02:35):
twenty two years later, and I'm really proud that it
just every year it's like a whole new story. It
keeps evolving.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
What is your main focus now?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Right now, my main focus is working on a giftwear
line I have. We all have our wish lists, right
and I feel like twenty two years into this, I
feel like I'm a little further in the timeline than
a lot of people who are starting now or who've
maybe done it for ten years or five years. And
(03:08):
what I've learned is that keep making that list of
what you want to do, because you have time to
do all of them. And one thing that has always
been on my list was to have a finish goods
giftwear line in a national retailer. So for I'm currently
(03:29):
working on twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five and designing
for those working with a manufacturing company that we present
to these major retailers, and it's visualizing that end goal.
So that's what I'm working on. I have my day
to day, which is you know, sharing tutorial, sharing inspiration,
(03:51):
working on other day to day projects, but I always
work on the big vision projects. Something every day. To
work on the big vision projects.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I love that so much because it's it's something to
get excited about besides the day to day, even though
you know, the day to day exactly keeps us engaged
and we have passion, but then it becomes day to day,
right a hamster wheel.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yes, yes, we always have to think one year ahead,
two years ahead, five years ahead, because I mean design
I'm designing right now for twenty twenty five. W These
retailers they plan eighteen months ahead, so we need to
start now. And you know, if we want it's like
(04:35):
book publishing. You know, it's just is such a long cycle,
and the more you put it off, the you know,
days keep passing by either way, might as well start
working on it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I love that saying days keep passing by either way.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Right right.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I was going to fly whether you sit still or
you work on your long term goal, so might as
well do both.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
And I designed a paper craft products. I design journals,
I design calendars, and those are all amazing. What I
want to design now is like finished goods in the store,
in the giftwear, like something that you can package up.
And I'll just tell you my dream project. They're called
Amiga angels and I have been making hand painting them
(05:22):
for ten years on my website. So I partnered with
a manufacturer. I shopped for different manufacturers and found the
one that fit great with my alignment. And so now
I have to sketch them. I have to get the
samples made, I have to do a b testing and
put it all the package together so that we can
(05:45):
present it to the buyers and make the buyer fall
in love with it. So that's the big goal coming
up is finish goods like giftware items you can just
buy it, like when you go into Target or Walmart
or any local boutique and you can buy a figurine
or you buy a little ring dish or all of
(06:07):
those are finished goods ready to go. There's opportunity for
all of us to be reflected on those store shelves.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Aniga Angels talk to us about the story behind that
Amiga Angels.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yes, well, I am a strong believer in guardian angels.
I know many of us are. But you know what,
every time I went to buy an angel, they looked sad,
or they didn't have a face, or they were looking down,
or they just didn't They didn't have my vibe at all.
(06:39):
Because I look at my guardian angels as my spiritual cheerleaders,
like they are a team. They want to help me
and they're excited because that's their one job is to
be a guardian angel. So I started designing happy angels,
and so I call them a meek angels. And I
(07:01):
have people that you know, every Mother's Day or the
holiday season, people buy them for all the women in
their family. My husband even paints some. He calls them
Cholo angels, and he paints them like men. And it
just really took off and I thought, you know, this
is something that we need. We need happy angels just
(07:24):
like you. You are.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
You exude so much joy, and it's it's like, can
you bottle it up.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
And sell it?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And a Mega Angels is you bottling up that joy
and selling it?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Right?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yes, yes, exactly. It has so much meaning to it.
And you know, we all have a real life a
mega angel or if we're lucky, several who have been
there for us. There are friends and they're excited, they're
not stressed out.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You've worked with big, big brands like you.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I'm not sure if you still have a line up Michaels,
but you've worked with Michaels. Yes.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So. I had a product line in Michael's for eight
years and it was amazing. It was the first time
they ever did Dia delos morthos there was with my
product line and they were scared because it was so different.
It ended up being the best selling products and the
next year I went back for to see my product
line there and they had their own product line of
(08:25):
Day of the Dad, So I was really proud of that,
Like they took a chance on me and it paid off,
and that was a wonderful experience. But I'm the type
where I don't like to stay in one place forever.
I want to grow, I want to evolve, and that
was designing things like you know, like t shirt iron ons,
(08:48):
and I left that manufacture to a different manufacturer for
scrap booking because we also in our culture, we do
a lot of journaling in scrap booking, so I learned
how to do design card stock and stamps and stickers
and Dike metal die cuts, all of that, and I
just love being able to put the Crafty Chica brand
(09:11):
in these different categories of the world of creativity. So yeah,
that was with Michaels and I still work with them.
I did a bunch of tiktoks for them, so I
still work with them all the time. They're a great company.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
But I really love the way that you think big
because now you are kind of taking the bull by
its horns, and I feel like you always have, but
in this case, you're creating your own product. You're not
asking anyone for permission, and then you are going out
and literally knocking on doors and saying this is what
I can produce. Do you want to buy it? Right?
(09:47):
And talk to me about that dynamic, because I feel
like there's been an explosion of a lot of Latina
creators and all kinds of and I feel like we're
a little behind as far as being savvy on how
to sell ourselves or.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
House to put it okay products. So I will break
it down for you because this is something that could
be a much bigger, in depth conversation. I'm a big
person about manifesting combined with doing the hard work. What
I learned early on when I had those three hundred
accounts I'm talking Bloomingdale's Urban Outfitters, like having to do dozens.
(10:26):
I hated it, and I swore if I ever went
back to designing, I would partner with the manufacturer who
knew how to do all of that back end stuff.
And so with this, I've never had to knock on doors,
knock on wood. I have always presented it as I
(10:48):
want people to find me. I want the right people
to find me. How do I make them find me?
Number One, having a website that is updated, that with
If anyone has goes to my website, goes to my
social media, gets my newsletter, I want them to say
I want to work with her, or I want to
(11:10):
make that, or I want to buy that. That is
the first thing is I want to uh because I
can't be there all the time to sell my product
or to give an elevator pitch, so I rely on
these other platforms to do it for me. So the
website has been amazing because I've evolved it, I've stayed
(11:32):
up on it. I post consistently on there. I do
Google seo to make sure that my articles are found
by the right people. I update my press page. I
just always am updating it because you never know who's
going to come visit, and I want them to look
at it and say, wow, she is she's got it
(11:54):
going on, she is up to date like it. Not
only does it look good, but it sends the message
that I know my business and I'm reliable and I'm
consistent and I will give one hundred percent. And same
with social media, you know, having that variety of content
showing up, still always being authentic, like I do crafts.
(12:16):
But today I did a review on the Little Mermaid
movie because I had a personal story to go with it,
and then I tie in a craft project with it.
So I think the most important thing that people can
do with their brand is to make sure all of
their platforms are set up so that when the right
person comes along, they will get everything that they need,
(12:37):
whether if it's LinkedIn. My greeting card product line came
through LinkedIn, and so you make sure every platform is
you're ready to be found by the people you want
and the goals that you want to achieve. And I
think that's where it can be easy to kind of
fall off a little bit, because if you get immersed
(12:59):
in doing tome of pop ups and always selling, selling, selling,
you're selling one thing at a time, which is fine
if you love that. Like if to do to make
handmade art, if that's what you want to do, build
a plan around that of doing original handmade pieces. I
wanted to do. I want to be in stores on
(13:20):
retail shelves, and so that was the path that I
chose and look at the end goal for that. But
I think that's the biggest thing is making sure all
of your platforms are up to date. Make sure you,
like I would always say crafty cheek is like ugly
Betty meets Martha Stewart with the dash of Oprah, And
(13:41):
so that way people can see quickly the vibe of
it and just carrying through with that with the content
that I put out and the message that I put out.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Right, So when you're ready to, you know, package your
Amiga Angels as a ready made product, you already have
a set of of stores that you're gonna pitch it
to or sell it to, or or is are you
kind of in the pitching process.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So I am like one product line away from it.
So the retailer who I want to work with has
asked me for another product line in which I'm working
on now, and then that I hope will lead to
(14:29):
the next bigger one because as we know as Latina's,
one of the issues that we face going into general
market is being in general market, not just being in
Hispanic Heritage Month, which is a beautiful thing to be
represented for Hispanic Heritage Month, but we're all year we're shopping.
(14:54):
So the end goal is to have all of our
product lines on storeeshelf all year round to normalize it.
And so this particular one, it's for holiday that I'm
working on, which is wonderful because it's you know, it's
falls in December, and then after that then I work
(15:15):
on the next thing. So even with my books, you know,
when I sold my first book to a publisher, I
already had two other book proposals ready to go, and
so I turned in the first manuscript all of the pictures.
My editor loved it, and I said, Okay, since you
(15:36):
love it, can I show you my other book proposal?
And she's like, bring it on, and so I'm like,
here you go. So I'm doing the same thing with
product lines, where I always have two or three in
the works. I make the prototypes and I think, who
would buy this, Why would they buy it? How many
(15:57):
would they buy? Because we all know we want people
to buy repeat products and not just like a one
time thing. So just putting applying all of that into it,
and so it's yeah, it takes a lot, but I
think that once you get in there, once you get
in the door, then it's you know, more opportunities start
(16:20):
opening up.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Right, And like you said, you're a multi hyphenit.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
You're an author, a creator, a writer, I mean so
many different things.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
How do you organize your.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Week or give us some tips on people.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
That are like you that are juggling different things.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Well, the first thing is.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Time for a quick break, but we'll be right back
with more of latinas.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Take the lead.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Don't go away, We're back with more of Latinas.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Take the lead.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
And like you said, you're a multi hyphenit. You're an author,
a creator, a writer, I mean so many different things.
How do you organize your week or give us some
tips on people that are like you that are juggling
different things.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Well, the first thing is making sure I feel good,
because if I don't feel good, nothing is going to work.
So I make sure to get eight hours of sleep
a night, and I have the most luxurious sheets, like
I just like make sure that it's like a nice
(17:28):
Airbnb in my room. That's my little sanctuary right right.
And then I have to do list. I plan out
my week of what needs to get done. Every night,
I have a to do list of what I need
to do the next day. And you know, before working
on this product line pitch, I was so nervous. I
(17:49):
had so much anxiety about it because we always start
questioning our skills, our talent, like all of it just
can seem opportunities can seem unbelievable sometimes like too big.
So I sat down and I painted forty mugs, like
I just went in and just this was my happy place.
(18:11):
Last week. I just I told my husband, I'm like,
I am on mug painting production. And it wasn't for
any order. There was no deadline attached, and it felt
so good. I was just gonna paint like four or
five mugs. Next thing I know, it's like forty mugs,
I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, stop. But it was
(18:33):
good for me because I needed to honor that in myself.
Of all of this is it comes from the root
of creativity. I love to make things. And as soon
as I turn everything into a job or a deadline
or money, the magic it's not there. So taking that
time to do what you love, to honor whatever that
(18:58):
route is in you that made you start doing this
to begin with. Sometimes it's holding a free workshop to
teach other women about Google SEO. Sometimes it's you know,
going to have coffee and just doodling. Sometimes it's painting mugs.
Sometimes it's working on a project that you know, my
(19:20):
like my novels like those had nothing to do with anything,
but it working on them felt good. I felt like
I was doing something for myself, for my future self, right, So,
you know, definitely to do list, always putting timelines, time
boxes on everything. Because this week, because I did that,
(19:40):
was forty mugs last week. This week it was all
about a very strict schedule. You know, I had a
brand campaign that I wanted to do really well so
that I could get hired back. So I did a
shot list, my daughter came filmed it for me, all
of that to make sure it was one hundred percent
and then designing stuff, doing the video, all of that,
(20:03):
and it all comes from having a to do list
and knowing, okay, this should take two hours, this should
take one hour. This I'm giving myself thirty minutes and
time boxing it that way. It helps me stay on track.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And what is your morning routine if you don't mind sharing?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Oh? Sure, So morning routine. I wake up, make my
bed because it's super cute. It makes me happy to
see it all finished, and I just kind of meditate
for a few minutes to think about just gratitude for
a new day and thinking about what I want to
(20:41):
accomplish for the day, and that usually is like ten
minutes or so. I get up, I'll stretch a little bit,
walk outside to get some sunlight, and then it starts.
I'll have my protein shake with my espresso, and I
start working on my projects. And then I take a
(21:02):
little break, you know, during the day. And because I
could work all night if I let myself, I get
really into it. So some nights I'll stay working late.
Other times I'll say, okay, wind it up, now, wind
it up.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I know I can totally relate, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Because you get passionate about everything, right.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And then when you're working from home, it's it's not
a clear cut and it's not like Okay, it's yes o'clock,
time to go home. And then and then it's compartment yes,
not compartment til I sometimes I take my laptop into
the living room and I'm typing away and before I
know it, it's like eight o'clock and it's no.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
I know, yes, But I also want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You are living and you've been living and I don't
know for all your life in Arizona, right, talk to
us about where you born there?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
What is I actually.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Lived in Arizona for two years myself and I have
a lot of family there, But talk to us about
what life is like in Arizona for you.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Oh, yes, Well, I'm third generation Phoenician, so my grandparents
were here. Three of my grandparents were born here, one
was born in Mexico. And so for the longest time,
I was like, I don't want to live here, Phoenix
is born. But once I became an adult and I
(22:23):
started traveling, I'm like, we have it pretty good here.
It's like very affordable, there's a very strong arts scene,
arts community, and for being full time working artists for
all this time, it you know, it has served really
well to be here. It's definitely hot in the summer,
(22:44):
but it just adds to the personality of all of it,
and where I believe forty percent Latino population here in Phoenix,
and it's there's so many different types of people and
so many different types of communities, a lot of them crossover.
(23:06):
I love Phoenix. I love my city. I love the
way it has grown and evolved so much. It used
to be you meet a cute guy at a picnic
and then you find out he's your cousin. Now there's
like no chance of that. I think we've grown so much, so,
you know, it's been fun to see it. E've alve
(23:26):
and change.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
And did you own a bookstore or a or a
brick and mortar?
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Yes? So for four years I was a co owner
of a super cute boutique called Mucho Mas Art Studio,
and it was amazing. It was another thing that was
on my life's bucket list was to be that shop owner,
and I really thought that was going to be my
(23:54):
be all end all, like that's what I wanted to
spend the next two decades doing. But the universe has
a way of talking to us. Our future self has
a way of reminding us through our intuition of the
changes we need to make. And after four years it
was doing so well, I just could not deny the
(24:18):
feeling that I needed to move from that situation. And
it's so wild because I left in July earlier that
our lease was up in January, but something was just
telling me like I needed to move away from that situation.
The next month, one of my best friends passed from COVID,
(24:40):
and then days later my mom passed away. The next month,
my uncle passed away and my husband's dad passed away.
There's no way I would have been able to manage
all of that still being there. So I am even
though it was a rough exit, like very emotional, I'm
(25:01):
so glad that I listened to my intuition because that
was definitely Guardian Angel's future self saying you can't be here,
like they knew what was coming around the corner, and
it was a really you know, with my mom dying
and my best friend, like those were things that were
not expected at all. So the store was awesome. It
(25:24):
led help lead to the greeting card line because I
would buy greeting cards from other artists and every time
I would stack the rack, I'm like, someday I want
to have a greeting card line, Like, not realizing like
that would that was the next thing coming around for me.
So I think it's good to pay attention to those
(25:44):
big dreams that we have and even if they're not
meant for, you know, our whole life, it's meant for
the experience and the lesson. And you know, I loved
those four years. It was so fun and connecting with community.
We loved your books, we said a lot of your books,
(26:05):
people loved them so much, and just working with all
these independent artists and makers and business owners. It really
was so special.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Right, and now that you're pivoting into you know, all
of these different products that you are we will see
in the stores. It's really cool that you were able
to get the customer experience as someone that owned a order, right,
because now you know how customers interact with products, like.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Yes, oh exactly. I think like the paint on pottery.
You know, I designed the ceramic pieces and to have
we had that as part of our studio, and I
did Latino paint on pottery, and so to see people
come in and see their decision making, even with books
or with finished goods, why would they choose this over
(26:54):
that one. I took notes on all of it. I
was always on my phone. No no, no, no, no, you know,
use the color purple more often, you know, like people
always choose purple. So yeah, it brought a lot of
experience I wouldn't have otherwise known.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Yeah, definitely. What better customer research do you need? Customer
behavior research? Do you need than that than actually be
the shop owner on the other end of the yupping aisle?
And you mentioned your daughter a little bit ago. I
know she's like a big time influencer now in her
own right. Did she did you kind of help her
(27:29):
along the way or how did that? Yes?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Well, what happened was both of my kids when they
turned sixteen, I bought them their own URL. So my
son was into gaming. His is the geek Life. Hers
was Maya in the moment doing comedy videos. Both of
them still do it as their main business now. My
son has a whole tabletop roleplay games that he just
(27:52):
did a big Kickstarter and funded. And my daughter she
went into comedy. She went to work for BuzzFeed and
she was on the cast for Bedo Like and she
left in I Forgot I think it was twenty twenty
one and to do you know, to go solo and
(28:14):
so yeah, that's what she's doing now, is doing video
content and writing and short films and all kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And is she close or is she in law?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
She's in LA. She lives in LA. So she was
just here for the weekend to visit. But she's out
there doing the thing. So it I'll go stay out
there and visit her because I have friends out there.
So it's fun to have a little place to go
to to visit. And my son, he has his brand
(28:46):
called the geek life, and he got married. He has
a little baby now and he's still doing his thing.
So it has been the best thing to see them
do what they love to do. And my kids always
joke like my daughter goes, you didn't give me a
King Sineta, but you got me a website and a brand.
(29:09):
I'm like, Okay, maybe we should have done a King
sin too, But.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Wow, So you have a whole legacy happening with with
Crafty Chica and your daughter and son and even your
husband who helps and is a musician in his own.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Right, an artist, yeah, is a painter. Yes.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Wow, So we can't wait. I cannot wait for your
line to come out. And is it going to be
under the Crafty Chica Yes, awesome, So can't wait. Can't
wait because we love to see not only your art
and your talents but latin as.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
We need presents all over yes, right in everything.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, and we all have the skills and the creativity
to do it. And the biggest takeaway I can say
is make that crazy wish and say this one I'm
going to do in for the second half of twenty
twenty three. This one I'm going to dedicate twenty twenty four.
(30:10):
Pay attention to those things and start working on them,
because that's how I call it shaking your snow globe.
You know you have to shake your snow globe, dude,
like reset the glitter and everything when you want to
start something new. If nothing happens, if you don't do anything.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Well, thank you so much, Kathy for all of your inspiration,
for every the beauty that you share with the world.
And I want to ask you, what is something that
you're reading, listening to, or doing that you want to recommend.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Well, I take my blog very seriously, and everyone it's
a whole other passive income. If you're looking for an
extra revenue stream to have an ad network on your blog.
I listen to a podcast called The Blogging Millionaire, and
this guy breaks down everything you need to know to
(31:05):
set up a money making blog, because we all know
the key to building wealth is to learn about passive
income and incorporate it into our business. And that's just
one way you can do that. So I've been listening
to The Blogging Millionaire lately.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I love that advice. I just interviewed Jennietors from Yokio
Neto podcast and she started blogging her recipes and it became.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Six figure salary and.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
She's still making money.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes, yes, so I I think I'm gonna start blogging
to why Not.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
You know what, it's a whole thing, that's a whole
other podcast of breaking down the dynamics of it. But
it's very lucrative. It's passive income, and you're serving the
community by putting out content that people are interested in,
so it's a win win for everyone.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I have one question about the blogging. Do you have
to have like a certain amount of traffic in order
to monetize it.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Yes. Yes, there's ad Thrive, which is now they changed
their name. I forgot what their name is called. But
another one called media Vine. So I work with media
Vine and I think it is fifty thousand sessions a
month and that they asked for. Once you get one
(32:30):
up and rolling, you could add a second blog and
that one is less traffic, so you could have I
only have the one. I just put all my energy
into the one. But yeah, you can choose what kind
of ads that you want. And I just went to Washington,
d C. On behalf of Google, where they picked fifty
(32:51):
two publishers to tell our stories. We went to Congress
because there's all of these bills that are trying to
get passed that will you know, deal with privacy and
deal with the ad choices and all of that. And
so we went to tell our stories and which is
a whole other podcast. But it's very important that people
(33:11):
know what's going what's happening online and the changes that
could be coming up if these bills pass, right, And
but for now, I'm just focusing on getting it done.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Awesome, yeah, because these bills could kind of prevent the
spread of the blogs, right because there are my firewalls
or whatever.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yes, and and you know there's one that right now,
I'll just quickly explain it right now, there's not one
general blanket privacy policy. So what's happening is each state
is implementing their own privacy policy. So that means anyone
who has an online store, a website, newsletter where you
(33:56):
collect information, you have to adhere to that state's laws
or you can get sued. How are we going to
keep track of every person's data? And it's not. So
what we're asking for is a one policy for one
(34:16):
federal policy that covers all of the states that is
the same. That way we can focus on our content
and serving the best content. The other bill has to
do with ads of taking away you know, the third
party ads where you know, I don't want toenail focused
ads on my website, like right now, I have it
(34:39):
set up to where it relates to what my messaging
is about what I'm about, you know, cookware, travel like health,
like happier things. Whereas if they take that away, if
they're gonna it's whoever has the most money will put
up sucking ads on all of our websites. I'm not
(35:02):
going to want to run a website that has I
won't be able, I won't monetize it anymore, right, you know,
And that's hurting small businesses, people like us who have
small businesses. There are many Latina moms out there who
rely on their ad money for their blog. They can
stay home and take care of their kids or do
(35:23):
their business, and if that gets taken away, it's just
it's just not fair. And I think it's them thinking
more about the bigger companies of like you know, oh,
this company shouldn't monopolize. Well, that company just happens to
have all of the tools that we use for our
businesses and there's no other company that has those tools
(35:44):
that we can use. So it's a much bigger picture thing.
So that's why I went to DC to talk about that,
and you know, we all went and told our stories
about how it would impact us.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
In front of Congress, he said.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
And in front of some senators and representatives. And I'm
also talking with Arizona representatives here. So it's called Internet
for Growth is one of the companies, and I work
with them on a local level to where we'll get
a fifteen minute call with a certain like we had
(36:19):
Mark Kelly's office a couple of weeks ago, where we
could talk about this very topic and they take down
all of the notes and all you can do is,
you know, they work for us, so we should be
able to voice our concerns about different topics.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I think the gem right now with this conversation or
with this specific topic is to be politically active, right,
to be active and not just ga right.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I also interviewed Katia at chast Astronaut Mexican Mexican Astronaut,
and she did the same thing. She went to Mexico
and she was fighting for this bill to also pass.
Mexico could allow space travel because it was kind of bad.
It was it was illegal for many, many decades. So
(37:08):
I just love these stories of Latin. I was like,
you're not just focusing on your passion, but you're also
focusing on the bigger picture and how we can all
get it and being active.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
So thank you so much for that.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
We need oh, thank you for listening. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
We need fighters and warriors just like you, because a
lot of us are oblivious to all of.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
These different things that made that is.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
The scary scene because if you don't know, you don't know.
And the fact that these lawmakers can have a personal
vendetta against a large company and put a bill together
and wheel and deal to get their friends to sign on.
It's like, and we never hear about it. There's so
many distractions that we're not paying you know, we're not
(37:55):
paying attention to it. So it's good too, especially the Internet.
I mean, we all have our businesses online in some way,
shape or form, and we want to get ahead of
the curve to see what is coming up so we
can continue doing what we love.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Definitely, another question that I ask at the end of
our interview is latin us take the lead as the
name of the show.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
How are you taking the lead?
Speaker 3 (38:22):
I feel like I have lived my life taking the lead.
I think it's just a matter of just going for
it and if it doesn't work, there's a lesson in
there somewhere being fearless and knowing that this is our
limited time here where it's like Disneyland, there's Tomorrow Land,
(38:45):
there's adventure Land, Like let's go to all the lands
and figure them out and have that experience with it. So,
whether if it's writing a book, like showing yeah, you
can have a full time job to kids in our
business and still find a way to write fifty thousand
words at nighttime after everyone's in bed. If I can
do it, you can do it like find a way.
(39:07):
So it's just showing by example perfect and that is
my favorite thing. Last week last month we went to
Thailand and as a vacation, and I had so many
women around my age, other Latinas say wow, I would
never think to go to Thailand. And seeing you on
the tut tuk like, okay, if crafta China can climb
(39:29):
in the tup tuck, I want to go to Thailand.
I want to go someplace different, shaking the snow globe.
That's the thing, so definitely doing things like that.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Okay, you need to have that product. Shaking the snow
globe bike.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
I know a snow globe.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I know how.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Every time just like shake it. Okay, sometimes it falls
off the shelf like oh, I wasn't expecting that.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Hey, things happen, but we get yeah, back up and
keep it exactly.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Yes, and ca where can people find you your products everything?
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Well, you can go to craftichica dot com sign up
for the weekly newsletter because I put a lot of
fun things in there, and then on social media everywhere
at Craftichica.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Perfect, which I was to ask us, thank you so
much for your joy, your light, your talent, everything.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
You're just a job.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Thank you, and vice versa. I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Please subscribe and give us a review, Tell your friends
and go Mavis about our podcast and hope.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
You join us next week.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Latin Has Take the Lead is executive produced by Hotsten
Reinoso Media Group, LLC and hosted by me naive Renos.
Production assistant is Ana Sofia Monsoon. Latin Has Take the
Lead is a production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network
and iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(41:05):
favorite shows.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
Astella Proxima
She is described as a crafty version of Selena meets
the Hallmark Channel with a dash of Oprah optimism. She
has even had her own line at Michael's and her
book Forever Frida is a fan favorite, and if you
like crafting, you have probably heard of crafty Chica and
followed some of her fun and culturally themed craft videos
(00:30):
on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
This week's interview.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Is with artist, author, designer, and speaker Kathy Kano Murillo,
better known as crafty Chica.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It's such an honor. Thank you so much. It's so
nice to talk to you again.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You are La Madrina de las Latinas with Brandy?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Oh? Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You started crafty Chica what twenty two years ago?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yes? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
For those that.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
May not know you, what is crafti Chica and how
and why did you start it?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Crafty Chica is a lifestyle brand that celebrates Mexican craft tutorials.
Because I have always loved to make things and share them.
I got into the craft industry while I was a
newspaper columnist. Realized that it is a forty three billion
(01:31):
dollar industry and Latinos make up twenty percent of the
population in the United States, yet we are not reflected
in the craft industry. It's like the same story across
the board. So I thought by starting crafty Chica, I
could share tutorials of crafts and DIY projects that were
(01:53):
trending all across the country and give them a Latin spin.
I'm third generation Mexican American. I'm a fourth generation maker
in my I come from a family of tinkerers and makers,
and I just thought it would be a great way
to represent our culture in the industry. And it led
(02:13):
to so many amazing things of people using tutorials to
make extra money to buy school supplies for their kids,
or to just make party favors for a wedding, or
just for mental health, to make something to relax, to journal.
There's so many aspects to it, and here it is
(02:35):
twenty two years later, and I'm really proud that it
just every year it's like a whole new story. It
keeps evolving.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
What is your main focus now?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Right now, my main focus is working on a giftwear
line I have. We all have our wish lists, right
and I feel like twenty two years into this, I
feel like I'm a little further in the timeline than
a lot of people who are starting now or who've
maybe done it for ten years or five years. And
(03:08):
what I've learned is that keep making that list of
what you want to do, because you have time to
do all of them. And one thing that has always
been on my list was to have a finish goods
giftwear line in a national retailer. So for I'm currently
(03:29):
working on twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five and designing
for those working with a manufacturing company that we present
to these major retailers, and it's visualizing that end goal.
So that's what I'm working on. I have my day
to day, which is you know, sharing tutorial, sharing inspiration,
(03:51):
working on other day to day projects, but I always
work on the big vision projects. Something every day. To
work on the big vision projects.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I love that so much because it's it's something to
get excited about besides the day to day, even though
you know, the day to day exactly keeps us engaged
and we have passion, but then it becomes day to day,
right a hamster wheel.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Yes, yes, we always have to think one year ahead,
two years ahead, five years ahead, because I mean design
I'm designing right now for twenty twenty five. W These
retailers they plan eighteen months ahead, so we need to
start now. And you know, if we want it's like
(04:35):
book publishing. You know, it's just is such a long cycle,
and the more you put it off, the you know,
days keep passing by either way, might as well start
working on it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I love that saying days keep passing by either way.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Right right.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I was going to fly whether you sit still or
you work on your long term goal, so might as
well do both.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
And I designed a paper craft products. I design journals,
I design calendars, and those are all amazing. What I
want to design now is like finished goods in the store,
in the giftwear, like something that you can package up.
And I'll just tell you my dream project. They're called
Amiga angels and I have been making hand painting them
(05:22):
for ten years on my website. So I partnered with
a manufacturer. I shopped for different manufacturers and found the
one that fit great with my alignment. And so now
I have to sketch them. I have to get the
samples made, I have to do a b testing and
put it all the package together so that we can
(05:45):
present it to the buyers and make the buyer fall
in love with it. So that's the big goal coming
up is finish goods like giftware items you can just
buy it, like when you go into Target or Walmart
or any local boutique and you can buy a figurine
or you buy a little ring dish or all of
(06:07):
those are finished goods ready to go. There's opportunity for
all of us to be reflected on those store shelves.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Aniga Angels talk to us about the story behind that
Amiga Angels.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yes, well, I am a strong believer in guardian angels.
I know many of us are. But you know what,
every time I went to buy an angel, they looked sad,
or they didn't have a face, or they were looking down,
or they just didn't They didn't have my vibe at all.
(06:39):
Because I look at my guardian angels as my spiritual cheerleaders,
like they are a team. They want to help me
and they're excited because that's their one job is to
be a guardian angel. So I started designing happy angels,
and so I call them a meek angels. And I
(07:01):
have people that you know, every Mother's Day or the
holiday season, people buy them for all the women in
their family. My husband even paints some. He calls them
Cholo angels, and he paints them like men. And it
just really took off and I thought, you know, this
is something that we need. We need happy angels just
(07:24):
like you. You are.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
You exude so much joy, and it's it's like, can
you bottle it up.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
And sell it?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And a Mega Angels is you bottling up that joy
and selling it?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Right?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yes, yes, exactly. It has so much meaning to it.
And you know, we all have a real life a
mega angel or if we're lucky, several who have been
there for us. There are friends and they're excited, they're
not stressed out.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You've worked with big, big brands like you.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I'm not sure if you still have a line up Michaels,
but you've worked with Michaels. Yes.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So. I had a product line in Michael's for eight
years and it was amazing. It was the first time
they ever did Dia delos morthos there was with my
product line and they were scared because it was so different.
It ended up being the best selling products and the
next year I went back for to see my product
line there and they had their own product line of
(08:25):
Day of the Dad, So I was really proud of that,
Like they took a chance on me and it paid off,
and that was a wonderful experience. But I'm the type
where I don't like to stay in one place forever.
I want to grow, I want to evolve, and that
was designing things like you know, like t shirt iron ons,
(08:48):
and I left that manufacture to a different manufacturer for
scrap booking because we also in our culture, we do
a lot of journaling in scrap booking, so I learned
how to do design card stock and stamps and stickers
and Dike metal die cuts, all of that, and I
just love being able to put the Crafty Chica brand
(09:11):
in these different categories of the world of creativity. So yeah,
that was with Michaels and I still work with them.
I did a bunch of tiktoks for them, so I
still work with them all the time. They're a great company.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
But I really love the way that you think big
because now you are kind of taking the bull by
its horns, and I feel like you always have, but
in this case, you're creating your own product. You're not
asking anyone for permission, and then you are going out
and literally knocking on doors and saying this is what
I can produce. Do you want to buy it? Right?
(09:47):
And talk to me about that dynamic, because I feel
like there's been an explosion of a lot of Latina
creators and all kinds of and I feel like we're
a little behind as far as being savvy on how
to sell ourselves or.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
House to put it okay products. So I will break
it down for you because this is something that could
be a much bigger, in depth conversation. I'm a big
person about manifesting combined with doing the hard work. What
I learned early on when I had those three hundred
accounts I'm talking Bloomingdale's Urban Outfitters, like having to do dozens.
(10:26):
I hated it, and I swore if I ever went
back to designing, I would partner with the manufacturer who
knew how to do all of that back end stuff.
And so with this, I've never had to knock on doors,
knock on wood. I have always presented it as I
(10:48):
want people to find me. I want the right people
to find me. How do I make them find me?
Number One, having a website that is updated, that with
If anyone has goes to my website, goes to my
social media, gets my newsletter, I want them to say
I want to work with her, or I want to
(11:10):
make that, or I want to buy that. That is
the first thing is I want to uh because I
can't be there all the time to sell my product
or to give an elevator pitch, so I rely on
these other platforms to do it for me. So the
website has been amazing because I've evolved it, I've stayed
(11:32):
up on it. I post consistently on there. I do
Google seo to make sure that my articles are found
by the right people. I update my press page. I
just always am updating it because you never know who's
going to come visit, and I want them to look
at it and say, wow, she is she's got it
(11:54):
going on, she is up to date like it. Not
only does it look good, but it sends the message
that I know my business and I'm reliable and I'm
consistent and I will give one hundred percent. And same
with social media, you know, having that variety of content
showing up, still always being authentic, like I do crafts.
(12:16):
But today I did a review on the Little Mermaid
movie because I had a personal story to go with it,
and then I tie in a craft project with it.
So I think the most important thing that people can
do with their brand is to make sure all of
their platforms are set up so that when the right
person comes along, they will get everything that they need,
(12:37):
whether if it's LinkedIn. My greeting card product line came
through LinkedIn, and so you make sure every platform is
you're ready to be found by the people you want
and the goals that you want to achieve. And I
think that's where it can be easy to kind of
fall off a little bit, because if you get immersed
(12:59):
in doing tome of pop ups and always selling, selling, selling,
you're selling one thing at a time, which is fine
if you love that. Like if to do to make
handmade art, if that's what you want to do, build
a plan around that of doing original handmade pieces. I
wanted to do. I want to be in stores on
(13:20):
retail shelves, and so that was the path that I
chose and look at the end goal for that. But
I think that's the biggest thing is making sure all
of your platforms are up to date. Make sure you,
like I would always say crafty cheek is like ugly
Betty meets Martha Stewart with the dash of Oprah, And
(13:41):
so that way people can see quickly the vibe of
it and just carrying through with that with the content
that I put out and the message that I put out.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Right, So when you're ready to, you know, package your
Amiga Angels as a ready made product, you already have
a set of of stores that you're gonna pitch it
to or sell it to, or or is are you
kind of in the pitching process.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So I am like one product line away from it.
So the retailer who I want to work with has
asked me for another product line in which I'm working
on now, and then that I hope will lead to
(14:29):
the next bigger one because as we know as Latina's,
one of the issues that we face going into general
market is being in general market, not just being in
Hispanic Heritage Month, which is a beautiful thing to be
represented for Hispanic Heritage Month, but we're all year we're shopping.
(14:54):
So the end goal is to have all of our
product lines on storeeshelf all year round to normalize it.
And so this particular one, it's for holiday that I'm
working on, which is wonderful because it's you know, it's
falls in December, and then after that then I work
(15:15):
on the next thing. So even with my books, you know,
when I sold my first book to a publisher, I
already had two other book proposals ready to go, and
so I turned in the first manuscript all of the pictures.
My editor loved it, and I said, Okay, since you
(15:36):
love it, can I show you my other book proposal?
And she's like, bring it on, and so I'm like,
here you go. So I'm doing the same thing with
product lines, where I always have two or three in
the works. I make the prototypes and I think, who
would buy this, Why would they buy it? How many
(15:57):
would they buy? Because we all know we want people
to buy repeat products and not just like a one
time thing. So just putting applying all of that into it,
and so it's yeah, it takes a lot, but I
think that once you get in there, once you get
in the door, then it's you know, more opportunities start
(16:20):
opening up.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Right, And like you said, you're a multi hyphenit.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
You're an author, a creator, a writer, I mean so
many different things.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
How do you organize your.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Week or give us some tips on people.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
That are like you that are juggling different things.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Well, the first thing is.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Time for a quick break, but we'll be right back
with more of latinas.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Take the lead.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Don't go away, We're back with more of Latinas.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Take the lead.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
And like you said, you're a multi hyphenit. You're an author,
a creator, a writer, I mean so many different things.
How do you organize your week or give us some
tips on people that are like you that are juggling
different things.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Well, the first thing is making sure I feel good,
because if I don't feel good, nothing is going to work.
So I make sure to get eight hours of sleep
a night, and I have the most luxurious sheets, like
I just like make sure that it's like a nice
(17:28):
Airbnb in my room. That's my little sanctuary right right.
And then I have to do list. I plan out
my week of what needs to get done. Every night,
I have a to do list of what I need
to do the next day. And you know, before working
on this product line pitch, I was so nervous. I
(17:49):
had so much anxiety about it because we always start
questioning our skills, our talent, like all of it just
can seem opportunities can seem unbelievable sometimes like too big.
So I sat down and I painted forty mugs, like
I just went in and just this was my happy place.
(18:11):
Last week. I just I told my husband, I'm like,
I am on mug painting production. And it wasn't for
any order. There was no deadline attached, and it felt
so good. I was just gonna paint like four or
five mugs. Next thing I know, it's like forty mugs,
I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, stop. But it was
(18:33):
good for me because I needed to honor that in myself.
Of all of this is it comes from the root
of creativity. I love to make things. And as soon
as I turn everything into a job or a deadline
or money, the magic it's not there. So taking that
time to do what you love, to honor whatever that
(18:58):
route is in you that made you start doing this
to begin with. Sometimes it's holding a free workshop to
teach other women about Google SEO. Sometimes it's you know,
going to have coffee and just doodling. Sometimes it's painting mugs.
Sometimes it's working on a project that you know, my
(19:20):
like my novels like those had nothing to do with anything,
but it working on them felt good. I felt like
I was doing something for myself, for my future self, right, So,
you know, definitely to do list, always putting timelines, time
boxes on everything. Because this week, because I did that,
(19:40):
was forty mugs last week. This week it was all
about a very strict schedule. You know, I had a
brand campaign that I wanted to do really well so
that I could get hired back. So I did a
shot list, my daughter came filmed it for me, all
of that to make sure it was one hundred percent
and then designing stuff, doing the video, all of that,
(20:03):
and it all comes from having a to do list
and knowing, okay, this should take two hours, this should
take one hour. This I'm giving myself thirty minutes and
time boxing it that way. It helps me stay on track.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And what is your morning routine if you don't mind sharing?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Oh? Sure, So morning routine. I wake up, make my
bed because it's super cute. It makes me happy to
see it all finished, and I just kind of meditate
for a few minutes to think about just gratitude for
a new day and thinking about what I want to
(20:41):
accomplish for the day, and that usually is like ten
minutes or so. I get up, I'll stretch a little bit,
walk outside to get some sunlight, and then it starts.
I'll have my protein shake with my espresso, and I
start working on my projects. And then I take a
(21:02):
little break, you know, during the day. And because I
could work all night if I let myself, I get
really into it. So some nights I'll stay working late.
Other times I'll say, okay, wind it up, now, wind
it up.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I know I can totally relate, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Because you get passionate about everything, right.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And then when you're working from home, it's it's not
a clear cut and it's not like Okay, it's yes o'clock,
time to go home. And then and then it's compartment yes,
not compartment til I sometimes I take my laptop into
the living room and I'm typing away and before I
know it, it's like eight o'clock and it's no.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
I know, yes, But I also want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You are living and you've been living and I don't
know for all your life in Arizona, right, talk to
us about where you born there?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
What is I actually.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Lived in Arizona for two years myself and I have
a lot of family there, But talk to us about
what life is like in Arizona for you.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Oh, yes, Well, I'm third generation Phoenician, so my grandparents
were here. Three of my grandparents were born here, one
was born in Mexico. And so for the longest time,
I was like, I don't want to live here, Phoenix
is born. But once I became an adult and I
(22:23):
started traveling, I'm like, we have it pretty good here.
It's like very affordable, there's a very strong arts scene,
arts community, and for being full time working artists for
all this time, it you know, it has served really
well to be here. It's definitely hot in the summer,
(22:44):
but it just adds to the personality of all of it,
and where I believe forty percent Latino population here in Phoenix,
and it's there's so many different types of people and
so many different types of communities, a lot of them crossover.
(23:06):
I love Phoenix. I love my city. I love the
way it has grown and evolved so much. It used
to be you meet a cute guy at a picnic
and then you find out he's your cousin. Now there's
like no chance of that. I think we've grown so much, so,
you know, it's been fun to see it. E've alve
(23:26):
and change.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
And did you own a bookstore or a or a
brick and mortar?
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Yes? So for four years I was a co owner
of a super cute boutique called Mucho Mas Art Studio,
and it was amazing. It was another thing that was
on my life's bucket list was to be that shop owner,
and I really thought that was going to be my
(23:54):
be all end all, like that's what I wanted to
spend the next two decades doing. But the universe has
a way of talking to us. Our future self has
a way of reminding us through our intuition of the
changes we need to make. And after four years it
was doing so well, I just could not deny the
(24:18):
feeling that I needed to move from that situation. And
it's so wild because I left in July earlier that
our lease was up in January, but something was just
telling me like I needed to move away from that situation.
The next month, one of my best friends passed from COVID,
(24:40):
and then days later my mom passed away. The next month,
my uncle passed away and my husband's dad passed away.
There's no way I would have been able to manage
all of that still being there. So I am even
though it was a rough exit, like very emotional, I'm
(25:01):
so glad that I listened to my intuition because that
was definitely Guardian Angel's future self saying you can't be here,
like they knew what was coming around the corner, and
it was a really you know, with my mom dying
and my best friend, like those were things that were
not expected at all. So the store was awesome. It
(25:24):
led help lead to the greeting card line because I
would buy greeting cards from other artists and every time
I would stack the rack, I'm like, someday I want
to have a greeting card line, Like, not realizing like
that would that was the next thing coming around for me.
So I think it's good to pay attention to those
(25:44):
big dreams that we have and even if they're not
meant for, you know, our whole life, it's meant for
the experience and the lesson. And you know, I loved
those four years. It was so fun and connecting with community.
We loved your books, we said a lot of your books,
(26:05):
people loved them so much, and just working with all
these independent artists and makers and business owners. It really
was so special.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Right, and now that you're pivoting into you know, all
of these different products that you are we will see
in the stores. It's really cool that you were able
to get the customer experience as someone that owned a order, right,
because now you know how customers interact with products, like.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Yes, oh exactly. I think like the paint on pottery.
You know, I designed the ceramic pieces and to have
we had that as part of our studio, and I
did Latino paint on pottery, and so to see people
come in and see their decision making, even with books
or with finished goods, why would they choose this over
(26:54):
that one. I took notes on all of it. I
was always on my phone. No no, no, no, no, you know,
use the color purple more often, you know, like people
always choose purple. So yeah, it brought a lot of
experience I wouldn't have otherwise known.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Yeah, definitely. What better customer research do you need? Customer
behavior research? Do you need than that than actually be
the shop owner on the other end of the yupping aisle?
And you mentioned your daughter a little bit ago. I
know she's like a big time influencer now in her
own right. Did she did you kind of help her
(27:29):
along the way or how did that? Yes?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Well, what happened was both of my kids when they
turned sixteen, I bought them their own URL. So my
son was into gaming. His is the geek Life. Hers
was Maya in the moment doing comedy videos. Both of
them still do it as their main business now. My
son has a whole tabletop roleplay games that he just
(27:52):
did a big Kickstarter and funded. And my daughter she
went into comedy. She went to work for BuzzFeed and
she was on the cast for Bedo Like and she
left in I Forgot I think it was twenty twenty
one and to do you know, to go solo and
(28:14):
so yeah, that's what she's doing now, is doing video
content and writing and short films and all kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And is she close or is she in law?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
She's in LA. She lives in LA. So she was
just here for the weekend to visit. But she's out
there doing the thing. So it I'll go stay out
there and visit her because I have friends out there.
So it's fun to have a little place to go
to to visit. And my son, he has his brand
(28:46):
called the geek life, and he got married. He has
a little baby now and he's still doing his thing.
So it has been the best thing to see them
do what they love to do. And my kids always
joke like my daughter goes, you didn't give me a
King Sineta, but you got me a website and a brand.
(29:09):
I'm like, Okay, maybe we should have done a King
sin too, But.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Wow, So you have a whole legacy happening with with
Crafty Chica and your daughter and son and even your
husband who helps and is a musician in his own.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Right, an artist, yeah, is a painter. Yes.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Wow, So we can't wait. I cannot wait for your
line to come out. And is it going to be
under the Crafty Chica Yes, awesome, So can't wait. Can't
wait because we love to see not only your art
and your talents but latin as.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
We need presents all over yes, right in everything.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, and we all have the skills and the creativity
to do it. And the biggest takeaway I can say
is make that crazy wish and say this one I'm
going to do in for the second half of twenty
twenty three. This one I'm going to dedicate twenty twenty four.
(30:10):
Pay attention to those things and start working on them,
because that's how I call it shaking your snow globe.
You know you have to shake your snow globe, dude,
like reset the glitter and everything when you want to
start something new. If nothing happens, if you don't do anything.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Well, thank you so much, Kathy for all of your inspiration,
for every the beauty that you share with the world.
And I want to ask you, what is something that
you're reading, listening to, or doing that you want to recommend.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Well, I take my blog very seriously, and everyone it's
a whole other passive income. If you're looking for an
extra revenue stream to have an ad network on your blog.
I listen to a podcast called The Blogging Millionaire, and
this guy breaks down everything you need to know to
(31:05):
set up a money making blog, because we all know
the key to building wealth is to learn about passive
income and incorporate it into our business. And that's just
one way you can do that. So I've been listening
to The Blogging Millionaire lately.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I love that advice. I just interviewed Jennietors from Yokio
Neto podcast and she started blogging her recipes and it became.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Six figure salary and.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
She's still making money.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes, yes, so I I think I'm gonna start blogging
to why Not.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
You know what, it's a whole thing, that's a whole
other podcast of breaking down the dynamics of it. But
it's very lucrative. It's passive income, and you're serving the
community by putting out content that people are interested in,
so it's a win win for everyone.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I have one question about the blogging. Do you have
to have like a certain amount of traffic in order
to monetize it.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Yes. Yes, there's ad Thrive, which is now they changed
their name. I forgot what their name is called. But
another one called media Vine. So I work with media
Vine and I think it is fifty thousand sessions a
month and that they asked for. Once you get one
(32:30):
up and rolling, you could add a second blog and
that one is less traffic, so you could have I
only have the one. I just put all my energy
into the one. But yeah, you can choose what kind
of ads that you want. And I just went to Washington,
d C. On behalf of Google, where they picked fifty
(32:51):
two publishers to tell our stories. We went to Congress
because there's all of these bills that are trying to
get passed that will you know, deal with privacy and
deal with the ad choices and all of that. And
so we went to tell our stories and which is
a whole other podcast. But it's very important that people
(33:11):
know what's going what's happening online and the changes that
could be coming up if these bills pass, right, And
but for now, I'm just focusing on getting it done.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Awesome, yeah, because these bills could kind of prevent the
spread of the blogs, right because there are my firewalls
or whatever.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yes, and and you know there's one that right now,
I'll just quickly explain it right now, there's not one
general blanket privacy policy. So what's happening is each state
is implementing their own privacy policy. So that means anyone
who has an online store, a website, newsletter where you
(33:56):
collect information, you have to adhere to that state's laws
or you can get sued. How are we going to
keep track of every person's data? And it's not. So
what we're asking for is a one policy for one
(34:16):
federal policy that covers all of the states that is
the same. That way we can focus on our content
and serving the best content. The other bill has to
do with ads of taking away you know, the third
party ads where you know, I don't want toenail focused
ads on my website, like right now, I have it
(34:39):
set up to where it relates to what my messaging
is about what I'm about, you know, cookware, travel like health,
like happier things. Whereas if they take that away, if
they're gonna it's whoever has the most money will put
up sucking ads on all of our websites. I'm not
(35:02):
going to want to run a website that has I
won't be able, I won't monetize it anymore, right, you know,
And that's hurting small businesses, people like us who have
small businesses. There are many Latina moms out there who
rely on their ad money for their blog. They can
stay home and take care of their kids or do
(35:23):
their business, and if that gets taken away, it's just
it's just not fair. And I think it's them thinking
more about the bigger companies of like you know, oh,
this company shouldn't monopolize. Well, that company just happens to
have all of the tools that we use for our
businesses and there's no other company that has those tools
(35:44):
that we can use. So it's a much bigger picture thing.
So that's why I went to DC to talk about that,
and you know, we all went and told our stories
about how it would impact us.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
In front of Congress, he said.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
And in front of some senators and representatives. And I'm
also talking with Arizona representatives here. So it's called Internet
for Growth is one of the companies, and I work
with them on a local level to where we'll get
a fifteen minute call with a certain like we had
(36:19):
Mark Kelly's office a couple of weeks ago, where we
could talk about this very topic and they take down
all of the notes and all you can do is,
you know, they work for us, so we should be
able to voice our concerns about different topics.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I think the gem right now with this conversation or
with this specific topic is to be politically active, right,
to be active and not just ga right.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I also interviewed Katia at chast Astronaut Mexican Mexican Astronaut,
and she did the same thing. She went to Mexico
and she was fighting for this bill to also pass.
Mexico could allow space travel because it was kind of bad.
It was it was illegal for many, many decades. So
(37:08):
I just love these stories of Latin. I was like,
you're not just focusing on your passion, but you're also
focusing on the bigger picture and how we can all
get it and being active.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
So thank you so much for that.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
We need oh, thank you for listening. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
We need fighters and warriors just like you, because a
lot of us are oblivious to all of.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
These different things that made that is.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
The scary scene because if you don't know, you don't know.
And the fact that these lawmakers can have a personal
vendetta against a large company and put a bill together
and wheel and deal to get their friends to sign on.
It's like, and we never hear about it. There's so
many distractions that we're not paying you know, we're not
(37:55):
paying attention to it. So it's good too, especially the Internet.
I mean, we all have our businesses online in some way,
shape or form, and we want to get ahead of
the curve to see what is coming up so we
can continue doing what we love.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Definitely, another question that I ask at the end of
our interview is latin us take the lead as the
name of the show.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
How are you taking the lead?
Speaker 3 (38:22):
I feel like I have lived my life taking the lead.
I think it's just a matter of just going for
it and if it doesn't work, there's a lesson in
there somewhere being fearless and knowing that this is our
limited time here where it's like Disneyland, there's Tomorrow Land,
(38:45):
there's adventure Land, Like let's go to all the lands
and figure them out and have that experience with it. So,
whether if it's writing a book, like showing yeah, you
can have a full time job to kids in our
business and still find a way to write fifty thousand
words at nighttime after everyone's in bed. If I can
do it, you can do it like find a way.
(39:07):
So it's just showing by example perfect and that is
my favorite thing. Last week last month we went to
Thailand and as a vacation, and I had so many
women around my age, other Latinas say wow, I would
never think to go to Thailand. And seeing you on
the tut tuk like, okay, if crafta China can climb
(39:29):
in the tup tuck, I want to go to Thailand.
I want to go someplace different, shaking the snow globe.
That's the thing, so definitely doing things like that.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Okay, you need to have that product. Shaking the snow
globe bike.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
I know a snow globe.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I know how.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Every time just like shake it. Okay, sometimes it falls
off the shelf like oh, I wasn't expecting that.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Hey, things happen, but we get yeah, back up and
keep it exactly.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Yes, and ca where can people find you your products everything?
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Well, you can go to craftichica dot com sign up
for the weekly newsletter because I put a lot of
fun things in there, and then on social media everywhere
at Craftichica.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Perfect, which I was to ask us, thank you so
much for your joy, your light, your talent, everything.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
You're just a job.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Thank you, and vice versa. I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Please subscribe and give us a review, Tell your friends
and go Mavis about our podcast and hope.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
You join us next week.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Latin Has Take the Lead is executive produced by Hotsten
Reinoso Media Group, LLC and hosted by me naive Renos.
Production assistant is Ana Sofia Monsoon. Latin Has Take the
Lead is a production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network
and iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(41:05):
favorite shows.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
Astella Proxima
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