My entire life I have always had an angel with me, my mother. No matter where I am in the world, she is always with me. Her life lessons and her love always accompany me. When I feel lost, I ask for her advice or I wonder what my mom would do/say in a certain situation. My mom is a strong woman, she has been able to fulfill her dreams against all odds. Growing up in a very conservative family, it was never easy to stand out as a woman... but she did it!
One of the biggest things I am proud of, is the empire she has created with her store, Modas Y Textiles. It has always been her dream to work in something related to fashion and our family has a background in fashion, so it was only natural that she followed in those footsteps and then us. MyT (Modas Y Textiles) was founded back in 2002 and only sold to people in Guatemala. Now, my mom has moved that store to a new location in Guatemala, at Plaza Fontabella, has expanded the space she is in and sells to not only Guatemala but also El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, just to name a few.
At first, my mom wanted to be a fashion designer but the career was not offered in Guatemala and she was not able to leave the country to study that. Instead, she enrolled in classes of tailoring and other fashion courses... through mail! This is how she was able to get her title of fashion merchandiser! While she took these classes, she was always being guided by my grandfather in learning the newest tendencies in textiles, choosing textiles, and helping him out with the family business. This was not the only things she was doing though, since she was 15 years old she would travel to New York and Miami to bring clothes to sell back in Guatemala. I was actually part of this, I remember going with her on these trips and watching her choose what to bring back to sell.
As MyT went growing, an opportunity to expand the store's space came by and that is when my mom thought of introducing a new line of fabrics, bridal textiles! Along with this new line, she also began to bring and design - along with my sister - unique textiles that can only be found in Modas Y Textiles.
Her inspiration to build this empire was, women. Ever since she was a little girl, she would dress up her Barbies with textile pieces she got from her parents' stores and wanted every woman in the world to feel beautiful with the textiles she chose with love. My mom studied fashion styling with Michelle Sterling in NYC and Coca Sevilla in El Salvador, earning her a very respected place in the fashion world. Some of her fashion icons include, Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, Dolce & Gabbana, and Gucci.
Something that inspires my mom to keep on going with her business is the desire to make everlasting memories for every single one of her clients. She wants them to feel special and to always cherish that special moment when they wear something from Modas Y Textiles. She always feels honored when women walk in the door and mention they are getting married or have a special event, and have chosen my mom's store. The only competition she has is herself, she wants to keep on growing and making her clients smile when choosing MyT.
Now, what's next for this incredible woman? She would like to begin to export her textiles all over the world. Watch out world, a new fashion giant is on the rise!
