Spotlight on Austin Designer: La Sujet Designs
An interview with Mariana Sujet Simon, owner at LA SUJET DESIGNS
10. Why did you develop the brand you did? What does it mean to you and what do you think it means to your clients?
I created La Sujet Designs as a way to channel my creative thoughts and put them together into tangible pieces.
La Sujet Designs is a project that I started many years ago, but not necessarily as a business. It started approximately 6 years ago with me watching videos on how to sew makeup bags. I did not even have a sewing machine, so I had to hand-stitch my first bag.
After that, I could not stop creating. So many ideas would come to my mind. I needed to try them out. Since then I knew I wanted to take that passion of mine and turn it into some kind of business where I could offer pieces that had meaning.
La Sujet Designs means that I get to show the world my love for hand crafted goods and put my ideas out there. For my clients on the other hand, I think that my brand means getting a product that has been crafted with love and patience, putting attention to detail, so that they get a product of quality.
9. What is the favorite piece you make or sell? Why does it stand out?
This is a hard question to answer because I truly enjoy and love creating so much, but if I would have to pick one piece, I think it would be my Mexican Talavera earrings inspired by Mexican pottery. These are the earrings that take me the longest to make, but the process that goes into them is definitely a work of love and patience.
How I’ve styled the “FLOR IN LIGHT MUSTARD” earrings from LA SUJET DESIGNS
LOOK ONE:
An easy trick for styling is to add the same color (yellow) to the first piece (earrings) that you’re trying to style. To create an updated monochromatic look without being too matchy-matchy, choose the same color, but a different version of that color. While the earrings are a light, soft yellow, the dress is an electric yellow to play off the earrings while creating a strong focal point.
LOOK TWO:
Colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors, and they naturally work well together. For this outfit, I’ve chosen a boho floral dress to match the style of the earrings, but also chosen a dress with an orange pattern to pair easily with the yellow earring.
LOOK THREE:
When two colors have the same characteristics, they often compliment each other. These earrings are light, soft, and cool, so I’ve paired my blush top and light blue DL1961 jeans, because they are also light, soft, and cool colors. Each elements feeds into one another harmoniously to create a put together look.
LOOK ONE
LOOK TWO
LOOK THREE
8. How has being an entrepreneur affected the way you view the world?
I see the world with more compassion and more appreciation now. I appreciate artisans and entrepreneurs so much more now since I know how much time and love goes into making something from scratch. I have so much more admiration for the people who venture themselves into the amazing adventure of becoming an entrepreneur.
7. Does being a business owner impact your personal life? How?
I had an idea of what goes into being an entrepreneur because I have the luck to have an amazing life partner who has dedicated his last five years to creating his own company. He has been my main inspiration. So yes, I had an idea, but I didn’t really know the actual amount of work that goes into having your own company, until I decided that I wanted to start the journey myself. Having a business means that you are not done with your day at 5:00 pm, it means that you will keep going until you finish or at least try to finish the multiple things that you have on your to-do list. It means that you will have to sacrifice your “off-time” and your weekends. It means that you will be uncertain about your finances, and if you will be able to make enough to cover all of your business expenses, and personal expenses. So, in a short sentence, my answer would be yes, being a business owner definitely has affected by personal life.
6. What do you hope will change about your business in five years?
In five years, I see my business going to amazing places. I see my business growing and serving many more people than it does today. Also, I see my business being a platform to help many more people succeed. I want to take my business to a level where many people can benefit from it. I want to work with people who have the same love for crafted goods just like I do.
5. What do you hope will be the same about your business in five years?
Something that I definitely want to keep in my business would be the process of how I make my pieces. The reason that I want to keep it that way is because I want my brand to offer goods that have been made slowly by artisan hands, who put love and time into each and every piece and pay extra attention to details.
4. How do you try to support Austin women?
I’ve always felt that the best way to help is to help your closer and direct circle first and then start helping others. With this in my mind, I always try to encourage the amazing women that are in my life to be ambitious and to work hard for what they want in life and to be owners of their destiny. I love seeing women succeed and be in charge of their dreams and to work for them, so I will help them in any way that will make this process go smoother for them.
3. What can the city government or local community do to support your business (besides visiting it more)?
Promote women-minority owned businesses. I think that empowering women and more specifically, empowering women who belong to a minority group, such as Latinas, can create great things for the community. There are so many Latina women that I know who have so many great business ideas, but sadly they don’t count with the resources to bring those ideas to life. I think that our local government should take initiative towards this situation and support us.
2. What about your brand or yourself do you most associate with Austin? How does it reflect Austin?
My brand is mainly inspired by nature and culture. Austin is a city full of both of those things. I love Austin’s multiculturalism and we all can agree that the natural spots here are goals.
1. If you were allowed to only eat one food every day for the rest of your life, but it provided you all the nutrition you needed, what would that food be and what do you love about it?
Bolivian food for sure, more specifically a dish called “picante de gallina.” I love Bolivian food because it’s the food that I grew up eating, since Bolivia is my home country. Besides the food being amazing and full of flavors, I think I also love it because of the memories that it brings to my mind about my childhood and spending my summers at my grandparents’ house eating the delicious food made by my grandma.
