Meet Lavina/Lidia Crawford/Santos | Owners of Tea Time Over

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lavina/Lidia Crawford/Santos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lavina/Lidia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was taught by my aunt how to make my first batch of soap and from there I continued to make batches of my own, I started sharing with family and friends, started testing different batches and started selling. Eventually TTO started becoming an actual brand, it wasn’t until I met the wonderful beautiful amazing and intellectual Lidia that she cheered me on to pursue making TTO an official brand – and then it began to really flourish. Together along with support from my sister we created a social media following which grew beyond just our friends and family. TTO is on track to become a Social Brand in the US and eventually internationally.

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.
Growing up I was lucky enough to have a mother who was a creator and surrounded herself with creatives. Me and my sister where always kept involved in arts programs from painting, drawing, mixed media and textiles learning. As an adult I was given a box of handmade soap for Christmas by my aunt. As a young adult that was appreciated. I used it all, afterwards I said I never want to go back to store bought soap. This is when my Aunt taught me the process of soaping making. For years I practiced and practiced until I finally perfected my own recipe. I attempted to start my own business but failed dismally as I was over whelmed and didn’t have all the proper tools and knowledge. I started branching out into different areas of skincare learning and creating new items, simply because learning new things excited me. In the summer of 2019, my partner LIdia encouraged me and suggested I give it another try at turning this into a business, She is a creative herself and was excited about designing a logo and business cards would be a great way to get back into her design groove. With an actual logo we felt more official, soon after we slowly started with marketing Tea Time Over on social media and participating in local vendor markets and have continued to grow even through a pandemic.

What sets us apart from others is that Teatimeover is a black and Latinx queer owned hand crafted goods company with focus on creating purposeful skin and body care products that that make an impact on the world by offering alternative to mainstream products. We make our product in micro batches and use sustainable ingredients.

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?
Chicago has a plethora of cuisines to choose from So places to eat would be hard to list, Lavina’s favorite place is Handlebar, a restaurant with delicious vegan options. Lidia’s go to is Luna Empanada, an LGBTQ owned Latin restaurant. We love visiting breweries, going to the lakefront to enjoy the breeze and people watch, and supporting small local businesses in the neighborhood we live in which is Avondale. A visit to Museum Campus for a show stopping view of the city skyline would be an absolute must!

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?
Our family and friends for their support and the community we have connected with on Instagram who we now consider friends that always cheer us on and encourage us.

Website: www.teatimeover.com

Instagram: TeaTimeOver

Facebook: Facebook.com/TeaTimeOver

Other: Etsy.com/shop/teatimeover