Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Gonzales.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am born and raised here in the San Fernando Valley. I grew up having a very rough childhood, so as soon as I graduated high school, I decided I would create a better life for myself. I quickly climbed the corporate ladder, and I truly had a hustle mentality (which, truthfully, I still do). However, I always felt there was something missing and never felt completely fulfilled in my career. I became a mom at 21 and was doing fairly well so being a mom, I just felt I had to push all those feelings aside and continue working for my daughter and I.
In 2018, I had my second baby, my son Mateo, and I would say this is really where the seed of my business got planted. I struggled a ton being a mom to a second baby, more so than the first time, and I felt really alone in this journey of motherhood. However, one thing I enjoyed was dressing up my little guy in really unique designs, shoes, and body styles, and I found myself really enjoying looking into different fabrics and materials for him. As he got older, he would tell me which fun prints he liked and what he was most comfortable in, and it became something we liked to do together, and he was just a toddler! We really enjoyed bamboo fabric, more so than any other fabric, due to how soft it was, how vibrant the prints were, and how fresh it kept him all year round. In this, I also found a community of moms who came together for the love of bamboo clothes, and we talked about everything motherhood, and I formed some great friendships. I truly felt complete in this world and really wanted to start creating clothes that made me happy! In 2022, my fiancee pushed me and encouraged me to start this business of creating baby/kids’ pajamas, and so in 2023, M. & Wally was officially born! I named it after my son and our family pup, who unfortunately passed recently. All of the designs are inspired by both of my kids and their interests, hobbies and likes!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not; it still isn’t to this day! I do it all (with some help from the fiancee), the marketing, the accounting, communicating with the manufacturer, and the other hundreds of things that go on behind the scenes that no one sees or knows about. I have lost tons of money and time finding the right people to work with to create the clothes because I had a vision and knew exactly what I wanted this to look like, and it was hard to find that. Growing my clientele is a big struggle as well, actually being seen and trying to convince people that if they give us a try, they’ll love us! I’m still learning, and there are days where I get so discouraged and question whether I can keep doing this because it’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time. But I have such supportive people in my corner, and when I say I love doing and creating these clothes, I mean it with everything in me. So, I take it day by day, and some are better than others, but I’m having fun trying!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Most of my career life has been in the corporate world. I have worked in many administrative fields, such as construction, oil, clothing, and insurance. I also went to school to get my associate’s in science but haven’t completed it, though I’m close! I’ve kind of done it all, trying to figure out what I like and what I don’t. Everything I have done, though, has felt like it’s come from a space of wanting to be successful and the hustle mentality that is easy to grasp here in Los Angeles. M. & Wally feels like the total opposite of everything else I have done; it’s something that has brought me joy and was created from the heart. I hope that people are able to see that more than anything, that I put a lot of love into everything that is created. And in supporting M. & Wally, you are not only supporting me but my kids, who are cheering me on every day and have faith in this business and their mom.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
My favorite thing about Los Angeles/The Valley is the diversity! You will meet people on all paths of life, and everyone has a story that is so unique and beautiful. I think it goes without saying Los Angeles has its downsides and struggles but the energy of this city is definitely unmatched, it’s amazing. I can’t imagine living anywhere else!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mandwally.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mandwally
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mandwally
