A Letter from the Heart
What a time to be alive, friends. Let alone what a time to be a small business owner trying to keep a ship afloat in what feels like a never-ending tempest.
How are you doing? Since October-December is our busy season I try to take part of January off, or at least take it easy and slow. Dear reader, we can say a lot about January 2026, but slow and easy are absolutely not how I would describe it. Yikes.
I hope you are safe and warm, and though none of us asked for this clusterfuck of a timeline and avalanche of horror that is living in the USA at the moment, I hope you are staying strong in the face of injustice and keeping an open heart towards humanity.
My dad likes to say it's darkest before dawn. I hope dawn finds us soon.
I've never shied from sharing that I am a proud daughter of immigrants or that a major inspiration for this brand and its products is my Central American heritage and my lived experience as a first generation Latina. The current political situation is very personal to me; if that offends you I'm not sorry and if so this may not be the brand for you.
Heart on the sleeve, it's been rough. How does one continue with business as usual when things feel so unstable?
I’m not sure, but I am doing the best I can as a person and as a tiny independent business. I hope the products we make bring you a bit of peace, light, and moments of calm always, but especially these days. Here are some things that have personally helped me during these dark days:
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Community- you're not alone, reach out to someone. Call, text, invite someone on a walk. Vent and let them vent. Show up to community events.
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Nature- sit in the sun, go for a walk, skip the podcast and listen to bird songs.
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Two-for-One- Recently saw a study that found just 12 minutes of walking with a friend rewires your brain and puts it in a better mood!
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Don't fight the funk- some days are just overwhelming, don't try to Pollyanna your way out of it. Be it an afternoon of solitude, a 10 minute ugly cry in the car or shower, or treating yourself to your favorite candle (👀)- do whatever you gotta do to take care of yourself.
Random but true: I love penguins. They make me happy and seeing them swim (and waddle) instantly calms me. I’ve been viewing A LOT of penguin content recently (see above about doing what you have to do…).
Did you know there is a 24/7 penguin live cam at an aquarium in Texas? You do now :)
The Latest
If you're local you might have noticed our brick and mortar shop has pivoted to by appointment only visits for in person shopping. Don’t fret you can still order online as usual and catch us popping up around LA too.
With the shop on hiatus we’ve been diving into new projects (products! collaborations! bts content! events!) and I'm very excited to share them with you soon.
First on the list, I'm happy to share that we'll be popping up with our good friends and neighbors Cafe Santo on Friday February 13th and Saturday February 14th, 10am-2pm. Come say hi and get your valentine boo or galentine bestie or your sweet dang self a little something for Valentine's Day. Word on the street we’ll be soft launching one of those new products I mentioned… shhhhh.
Goodies
Speaking of Valentine's Day, nothing says love to me like music. Here is a playlist I made for you around an instrument synonymous with romance and amorous moments...
Enjoy Saxy Music for Sexy People- a collection of songs with sweet, sweet saxophone solos or at least prominent sax parts. Not necessarily all romantic tunes, but good lord do I love saxophones and will take any excuse to celebrate them!
And While We're on the Topic of Love…
here are some things making my lil’ heart happy these days:
Sports? Don't know her and don't care! Bad Bunny? Um, yes please! Not enough words to describe the joy and pride watching Benito shine on such a big stage last Sunday!
Can’t Talk Now, Busy Swoonin’:
Pedro Pascal... reciting Shakespeare (Romeo's speech when he first lays eyes on Juliet no less!), in Spanish... as translated by one of the greatest poets of all time, Pablo Neruda?! C'mon! 🫠😍❤️🔥
My sweet friend Pilar surprised me back in December with a Basque Cheesecake for my birthday and I've been obsessed ever since. If you're ever in Montebello check out Butter Lab for a delicious treat that is perfectly rich and tasty, but not too sweet… and dare I say better than NY style 🫣
I think we were all gobsmacked in the best way possible by Makó's stunning portraits of Bad Bunny and NYC's First Lady, Rama Duwaji, but his photos for fashion brand ABODI TRANSYLVANIA's latest collection spoke to my little goth heart!
Need Valentine Gift Ideas?
We've got plenty of perfect presents, view our collections here.
Sending lots of love your way this Valentine’s Day and always! Leaving you with a photo of my sweetie pie :)
xx,
N
