Meet Iriana and Nancy | Owners of La Tient

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

Hi Iriana and Nancy, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
This is actually how our business started. Our first pop up was at H.O.P.E (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) Latina History Day Conference. They motivated us to put ourselves out there, whether we thought we were ready or not. Safe to say we were not. We showed up at the conference, set up a table with a few of our products. No business cards, no business sign, we weren’t taking cards only Cash. We were so new to this, we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. Thankfully we were in a room full of amazing, empowering, women owned businesses who gave us words of encouragement and told us to push through , not give up and just keep working hard because we had a good purpose behind our Tiendita. So yes. We took a risk that year (2019) we put ourselves out there and we have been working hard ever since.

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?
A portion of our proceeds goes back to children’s education in Oaxaca, Mexico. We love to put a smile on each and every person we meet! The words of encouragement we get back from the parents of the children we give back to, to the teachers and community. Loni the owner of Casa Bloom reminded us that we have to adapt to changes. We had to quickly make changes on planning the dates of travel to bringing back more items and to be able to give back as well. In the beginning of the pandemic Oaxaca was closing its doors and had to stay out for about a year and a half to finally be able to go back without restrictions. We launched our website in August of 2019, the same day I (nancy) found out I was pregnant. Having a baby in a global pandemic definitely set me (Nancy) back. I had to adapt as a new mom, behind closed doors, having launched a new business with no product left and unable to do anything about it. Now 3 years later, we can finally start planning a trip with my son. A trip I know will allow us to connect with the parents/kids in Oaxaca on a whole different level.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If we were hosting a friend, we would definitely be having a Carne Asada party at our moms backyard with Mezcal as our favorite drink of choice and salsa de molcajete con chapulines. We definitely have to hit up K-Town for some Korean BBQ & since we are already in that area one of our Favorite Oaxacan restaurants happens to also be in K-Town, If you are looking for a good drink with mezcal La Guelaguetza would be our first choice.
Another place we love, is The Plant Chica. Which is in our neighborhood. The Plant Chica has helped us share our culture with our community and is always showing love to business owners in our neighborhood.
Of course a Dodgers game is always a good idea.
& You can also never go wrong with a paleta from Mateos(also Oaxacan owned ) 

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Mayra Rojas-Garcia at H.O.P.E (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality). She motivated us to start our business. We had a long converstaions with Mayra about what we wanted to do, the story behind our business and the specifics of what we wanted to sell and our long term goal. She said if we didn’t sign ourselves up for Latina History Day conference’s Comadre Network, then she would sign us up. She believed in us and til today is one of our biggest supporters.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/la.tient?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Image Credits
Yasmin Antonio