Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariel Méndez . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mariel, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
This topic is one of the most complex for me. During my beginnings as “MARALOVE” it was very difficult for me to let go of that emotion of fear and insecurity of the typically subject of “what will they say”… It was a lot of work to have control of these emotions that constantly accompanied me when making any social media publication.
Nowadays, my challenge is to work with the pressure of myself. Having a commitment to improve myself and be better, to have more compliances; They can dismay me.
It is still a challenge to deal with these feelings of anxiety and lack of recognition. I think that the only way I have been able to get away from this negativity that undoubtedly exists in every entrepreneur, has been to take care of myself. Take care of my diet, exercise, read, educate myself. Create moments in which I can experiment with outfits, invent outfits, get inspired by going for a walk, see people and their behavior on the street while sitting drinking coffee. Include myself in any environment that is positive and has a liberating energy.
I haven’t found the best “recipe”, but I feel like this helps me a lot moving forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
The truth is that for several years I was working non-stop, I kept knocking on doors when plans were still scheduled. There were days when I worked holidays, weekends, on my birthday, even when I was not in the best emotional condition and health moments. During 2023, I experienced several events that did not allow me to continue and my emotional stability was unstable. I continued for most of the year but there came a time when I had no inspiration to paint. I couldn’t create the time to paint and be creative. Even so, I needed to launch a new collection to have content. But it had to be with only two pieces of art work. The rest was photographs. It included a hand-painted tableware plates and cups, some accessories such as sunglasses, Paloma Picasso’s handbags and outfits that were created especially for this collection called “LA VIDA”. It was very well received by magazines from different countries including Paris, France.
I stopped a little after I posted it, I started the moving process from my store at North County Mall in Escondido. My contract ended and I decided to take some time to make changes. The biggest thing I did was to have everything in storage again to keep me calm and at peace. No more retail. No more exhibitions, no social events and collaborations. I am in a creative process in which I would like to add my talent as an artist in conjunction with MARALOVE growth. Being two different branches. Maintain the MARALOVE style and create new projects. On the other hand, explore more the artistic side in galleries, with decorative paintings for interior design spaces.
For now I will add all the products I have such as clothing, accessories and paintings to my online store.
I would love to share more of myself and my creative process through a blog, videos, stories and posts.
This 2024 I am excited and ready to return to schools with the children through my non-profit organization.
It makes me very happy to resume this magic!
For now this is what I have in my plans…
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The greatest teachings have undoubtedly been to make it possible for you to believe in yourself, to freely be yourself and to have patience. It’s hard for me to do it but it helps me a lot when I achieve it.
Know your potential, know how to decipher your purpose and goal a little more.
Be resilient in the face of adversity. Know that challenges will come but take them calmly. Be cautious with yourself and do not demand more from yourself than you can. Treat yourself with love.
Have a strategy, have structure to commit and follow it.
Be loyal to yourself and customers. Know that you can take inspiration from someone else but always maintain your style and intuition to be the leaders.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Myself. This at first might sound egocentric to say “I am the knowledge needed to be successful.” However, I don’t feel like it is, quite the opposite. For the humility that it requires to admit that in you there are so many mistakes, bad thoughts, errors that you learn and change to improve.
For me, there have always been people who help and inspire me. But the reality is that you are alone in this journey.
No one I know who has been sponsored in every way to be able to succeed. There is always a part of you that is alone. That solitude of living learning moments gives you the tools to be successful.
Success is very different for many. I consider myself successful for everything I have learned and built. I don’t take credit for it all the time. But inside me I know.
All the people who appear on your path help you with something, a comment, suggestion or idea. Whatever it is, always being alert is important. Life experiences, your family, everything around you has to be inspirational to be able to continue and be successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maraloveshop.com
- Instagram: @mara.love
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050186212849&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Model: Ileana Méndez Photographer: Jackie Gallardo Location: Paradisaea Restaurant. La Jolla Blvd, San Diego, CA. Creative direction: MARALOVE
