Exploring Life & Business with Ana Gabriela Lopez of Chica Mala

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Gabriela Lopez.

Hi Ana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Guatemala and came to the US when I was 11 years old. I’m the Founder of an LA-based social impact business called Chica Mala, an eco-friendly textile + lifestyle shop handcrafted with love by artisans in my home country of Guatemala.

As a Guatemalan native, I want to shine a spotlight on the richness of my culture and the tangible beauty of my home – all while creating a business that makes a social, environmental, and educational impact.

When the Covid-19 global pandemic started, I reconnected with a team of Indigenous artisan women in rural Guatemala I had met in 2018. I remembered them telling me how much their communities rely on tourism for their business to thrive. Their coperativa (co-op) was made up of 35 resilient women who were each representing and providing for their families.

Without knowing it, my social entrepreneurship journey began that moment with a genuine will to help. I began virtually collaborating with my co-op partners on innovative ways to expand our marketplace and started designing and creating unique artisanal handmade pieces to sell in the US. We’ve grown our community to 74 artisans around Guatemala. We officially launched in November of 2021 and we’re just getting started.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a slow fashion brand has come with a lot of challenges. Our overhead cost is high, given the high-quality materials we use to create our products and the time it takes to make each piece. Quality control was extremely difficult while we designed and collaborated virtually before our launch. We partnered with a Guatemalan logistics company to ensure everything is properly shipped through customs.

I have invested my own savings and work a full-time job as an Enterprise Business Development Exec for LinkedIn to be able to retain full ownership of Chica Mala. There are a lot of American and European brands working with Guatemalan artisans but a huge motivator of mine is to build representation for Guatemalan and Indigenous founders. We need to be represented in our art, creations and culture. It’s our time.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Chica Mala is a Guatemalan-American owned eco-friendly lifestyle shop. We carry an assortment of home decor, vintage textiles, ceramics and accessories handmade with love in rural Guatemala. We collaborate with over 70 artisans to incorporate our rich Mayan history and designs into unique artisanal handmade crafts for sale in the United States. We are driven by social equity and envision a future in which business is used to reduce poverty and promote inclusive development worldwide.

Indigenous art is rooted in sustainability. We approach our slow fashion creation process the same way our ancestors did: with a mutual respect for nature and the world we live in.

Guatemala is the heart of the Mayan world. Our history dates back to the rise of the Mayan civilization, whose legacy lives on today with the traditions and culture of our people.

Our top-selling pieces are Jaspe. Pronounced HA-spay, Jaspe is the Guatemalan form of Ikat, an ancient and admired art form found in a number of cultures. Think of it as tie-dye done to the yarn before it’s woven, so the designs created by the tied areas show up in the finished cloth. This process is extremely complex and time-consuming.

The dying is only half of what makes it Jaspe. Over the centuries, our dying methods have been consistent. Our weavers embrace natural alternatives to otherwise toxic dyes. Thus, our products are dyed with natural elements from the earth, giving them a rich and colorful palette derived from vegetables, plants, botanicals, and even insects.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I’m a sucker for self-growth, business and psychology books:

Educated by Tara Westover
For the Love of Men by Liz Plank
Think Again by Adam Grant
Playing Big by Tara Mohr
More than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Becoming by Michelle Obama

Podcasts + blogs:
The Daily
Hella Latina
Morning Brew
Pod Save America

Contact Info:

• Website: shopchicamala.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shopchicamala?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/shopchicamala
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-gabriela-lopez-78b45290
• Other: https://linktr.ee/shopchicamala?fbclid=PAAaaMZ4TlvMUhapr6mlvo8XUWwHe-e2hRDlv6XjEAw0QoA4agCPX9Fm2pKVc

Image Credits
Chapin Films (our Guatemalan photography team) Napo Sojuel (local photographer in Lake Atitlan) We are proud to work with a 100% Guatemalan team