Meet Eliana Mancilla and Fabian Aleman | Co Owners of El PawPit

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eliana Mancilla and Fabian Aleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eliana and Fabian, how did you come up with the idea for your business?

We came up with the idea for our business shortly after adopting our first dog Drax back in 2018. We wanted to create accessories for him and apparel for us that combines the love we have for both our dog and Latinx roots.

Within the first year of adopting Drax, we met so many individuals just like us, Latinx millennials who share a profound connection with their dogs. The connections we made inspired us to use terms like Chucho and Firulais which are commonly used in the Latinx community when referring to dogs as well as, phrases such as No Pos Wow but with a dog-loving twist

With-in the first couple of months of launching our small business, we received so much positive feedback from pet parents, non-pet parent millennials, and Latinx individuals in their 50’s and 60’s. One day in particular we were out grocery shopping and an elder gentleman approached Fabian after noticing his Papá de Firulais Sweater. The sweater put a big smile on his face and he said that he hadn’t heard the term firulais since moving to the states from Colombia. We’ve had many interactions like this that make people smile once they see and connect with our products. Through these interactions, we are reminded just how meaningful and important representation is and we want to continue building on that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We both work full-time jobs that we are equally passionate about. Fabian works in the health and service industry caring for loved ones that need extra assistance. Eliana is a consultant who works in the field of early education and focuses on advocating for children, families, and ECE professionals.

We both consider ourselves people who are in service of others, meaning we have chosen careers that allow us to share our knowledge, resources, and experience to advocate for and help those who need it. Getting to this point was not easy, it took a lot of dedication, discipline, and a big support system from friends and family.

The work that we do in our professional lives has helped shape our brand in that we want to represent communities that we both grew up in and advocate for. As first-generation Mexican-Americans, we know and understand the value of representation even in the dog community. We want to celebrate and share the love for both our culture and dogs with the rest of the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So we would definitely start our day by having breakfast at La Carreta which is located in East Los Angeles. The breakfast here is unmatched, you really can’t go wrong with any of their breakfast items. Our personal favorites are the Menudo, Huevos Divorciados, Machaca Burrito and Chilaquiles.

You are going to finish your plate and be completely full, trust us! But don’t worry you can take a walk up and down that street and get familiar with the local businesses and artisans that set up shop.

For lunch, you want to eat at Grand Central Market. There are tons of food options to choose from. If you ask Fabian, he’ll tell you to stand in front of Tacos, Tumbras a Tomas and patiently wait for a sample taco, they hook you up! Order one or two tacos and then make your way to the back of the market to Sari Sari Store. Get the Lechon Kawali Rice Bowl. It is delicious and tastes just like his Anti Feli’s homemade Lechon. Eliana will insist you finish your lunch with some McConnells Ice Cream…… you can’t go wrong with any of the flavors. If you go to the Grand Central Market on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday you can walk down to the lower floor where small businesses and vendors set up shop.

We love going to local parks in the evening with our chuchos when the temperature gets cooler and you can catch hints of sunset. So you can be sure that we’d end our day at our local dog park in Hollydale, CA. We also love taking our dogs to local dog-friendly pop up’s like Family Nights at the Y in Lakewood CA, Santa Ana Farmers Market on Tuesdays, and any other dog-friendly pop-ups.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We’d like to give a Shoutout to all the small businesses who are out there hustling, grinding, and making their dreams true. Who are unapologetically themselves and proudly share their passions and creativity with the rest of the world.

Additionally, we want to give a shoutout to those particular businesses and organizations that give a voice to the voiceless, that advocate for justice, care for animals, and live to spread kindness. We see you, we hear you and we’re with you.

Website: www.elpawpit.com

Instagram: @elpawpit