Meet Maria Salazar: Arawayuu’s Founder & Creative Designer

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

Hi Maria, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
Moving into a new country would be one of the hardest decisions I had to make… But definitely, one of the best ones for anyone trying to immerse into a new culture! This year marks my 10th year in California and has been one of the greatest experiences. I’m grateful to call it my second home, after leaving my home town Neiva, Huila in Colombia. I’ve been able to bring the best of both worlds from Colombia to California with Arawayuu. I look forward to keeping building a community that has made this decision worth every part of the way.

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?
Arawayuu is more than a business or a company for me, it’s a community and brand with a purpose to support each other. I’m proud of developing Arawayuu’s socially conscious concept after realizing a widespread lack of ethical fashion, a growing tendency that has pushed brands across the globe to change sourcing and production processes in recent years. I want to redefine ethical fashion and invite you to shop with a purpose as we join the slow fashion movement.

Arawayuu, whose name is inspired by our Wayuu (“Wah-you”) artisans who make every bag by hand with organic cotton, encourages ethnic fashion through fair trade while embracing boho-chic styles. The intricate bag designs are traditional to the area and feature tapestry crochet patterns, geometric compositions, and pineapple imagery, as reflected in Arawayuu’s logo. The brand’s Mochila bags represent a particular form of expression for these tribeswomen; their labor-intensive weaving process can take more than 160 hours and uses ancient crochet techniques passed down through generations. Arawayuu showcases each individual artisan’s life story and cultural traditions through its bags’ motifs; no one ever wears the same mochila bag, as no weaver’s story is ever the same.

The bold color palette expressed in our latest Summer-Spring 2021 collection inspired by California’s bohemian beach vibe and features a colorful twist and trending neon colors including lime green, blinding yellow, hot pink and flame orange. Standout items include the Wayuu Clutch, Wayuu Mochila Bags, Stacked Tassel Earrings, Leather Chokers!

And we’re super stoked for our SS21 collection with our latest addition, Arawayuu’s adjustable Yoga Mat Straps! We’re bringing different color options from vibrant to neutral tones with an adjustable hook-and-loop closure. The colorful fabric is 100% organic cotton and thick enough that it won’t dig into your shoulder (how cool is that!?) – Despite the uncertainty with last year, we wanted to find a way to help our indigenous community of artisans, who were facing hunger issue due to the quarantine lockdown, so we launched our COVID-19 Emergency Response. With every purchase of our Adjustable Yoga Mat Strap, 10% of each sale is donated to purchase food baskets for our artisan’s families. We were able to donate 20 food baskets, but there’s still so much more we can to help and we hope to do so with the amazing support of our Arawayuu community.

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 I had to pick my favorite local spots would be to start in the Pacific Beach area, with Yerba bar mate where we have our SS21 collection also available. Another great spot in this area would be to head to Tourmaline Beach for a morning surf session! To head around University Heights, would make a coffee stop at Yipao Coffee offering Colombian specialty coffee – hands down one of my favorite ones with vegan pastries from Splitbake and La Hija del Maiz. I would end it with lunch at Liberty Station Market with lots of meal options from ramen to Thai to Argentinian empanadas. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is one of my favorite questions! I’m forever grateful to be able to share our story today but would not be where I am today if it would not be for the amazing support system I have – the amazing Arawayuu community that keeps growing and of course, my family, closest friends, and my partner. I’d like to shoutout everyone that has believed in this amazing journey and has given me the support to move forward. I’ve also had the pleasure and honor to work with other powerful brands and inspiring people. They have made this journey even better with all their advice, help and mentorship.

Website: www.arawayuustore.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arawayuu/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arawayuu/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Arawayuuu/

Youtube: http://bit.ly/ArawayuuYoutube

Image Credits
Photo Credits to Rosana Marino, Grace J. Photography, https://shotsbygracej.wixsite.com/home, Bronwyn Huddleson Photography – www.bronwynhuddleson.com