Meet Marialejandra Gutierrez | Mental Health Therapist & Entrepeneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marialejandra Gutierrez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marialejandra, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am a first-generation American and proud daughter of immigrant parents. I am a Latina with Ecuadorian and Mexican roots. My experience as a first-generation Latina and daughter of immigrants has and continues to impact the person that I am and continue to become. Growing up navigating different cultural identities, family expectations, and generational conflict all while trying to discover myself created unique challenges that steered me toward a path of service, community, and creativity. The unique challenges that I experienced led me to become an individual who decided to break harmful generational patterns and heal from her trauma. Additionally, it led me to become an empathetic and compassionate mental health professional, mental health advocate, and business owner.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the founder of Primrose Studio Co. which is a Latina-owned business based in Los Angeles, Ca that combines mental health and interior design to provide a home wellness interior design service. The mission of my business is to design supportive home environments that help improve our clients’ mental wellness and their quality of life. I am a strong believer that everyone deserves to have a space in their home where they feel safe to relax, recover, recharge, and be their authentic self.

What sets me apart from others is that my client’s wellness is at the forefront of my business. My clients have complete autonomy over the transformation of their space. Instead of taking control over the physical transformation of their space, my clients are heavily involved in the process of how they want their space to feel, look like, and support them. By combining my educational background in Clinical Psychology and my lived experience as a trauma survivor, I created not only a service but a source of support for individuals seeking to create a home environment that supports and improves their mental health. In addition to many other tools that aid in supporting our mental health, your home can also serve as another critical tool for your healing and well-being because creating a safe environment at home helps nurture growth, healing, and recovery.

Starting a business as first-gen Latina has been challenging, especially without guidance and previous knowledge. Fighting through imposter syndrome has been the most challenging aspect of this entrepreneurial journey. Despite all of the self-doubt, what I am most proud of is that I continue to learn, grow, try, try again, and move forward. How I have continued to move forward is by learning to embrace setbacks and mistakes and not label them as failures because at the end of the day setback and mistakes are just learning opportunities.

What I wish for others to know about my business is that it is an extension of me and the embodiment of who I am at my core. It merges all of the things I truly love and value which includes helping others, advocating for health and wellness, encouraging authenticity, embracing creativity, and most importantly cultivating a life that feels safe and joyful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love exploring areas in LA including Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, China Town, Highland Park, Atwater Village, and the Arts District. If my best friend was visiting LA I would definitely take her to breakfast at Poppy & Rose in the Flower District, followed by a stroll through the flower district to look at all of the beautiful flowers (definitely will buy flowers). I would take her to some of my favorite coffee shops such as Maru in the Arts District and Kumquat Coffee in Highland Park where I would order an iced almond mocha and she would probably order a iced matcha latte and possibly some pastries. I would take her to visit some of my favorite parks and have a picnic at Vista Hermosa and a small one near the Silver Lake Reservoirs. We would go eat and have drinks at Nativo, Guisados, El Cochinito, Night + Market Song, Zinc Cafe, Pine & Crane, the Girl and the Goat, and other places.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to several individuals. My husband, mom, and dad who have been my primary support system and have been my biggest cheerleaders every step of the way. My professor in grad school, Dr. Lo, who was my mentor and helped me obtain various development opportunities to aid in my professional and personal growth. I also want to thank Diana Garcia who is a money and mindset coach and the owner of Amigas Y Dinero for helping me as a first-generation Latina gain confidence in managing my finances and developing a healthier relationship with money. Without her guidance, I wouldn’t have had the courage to define a monetary value that truly reflects my professional worth, experience, and skills.

Website: https://www.primrosestudioco.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primrose.studio.co/