Meet the Mujer: Barbara Martinez of A Happy Mush
Join us in our latest installment of the Meet the Mujer series as we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on Barbara, the creative force behind A Happy Mush. Barbara has been an integral part of Mujeres Makers Market, showcasing her vibrant array of jewelry, art prints, and ceramics. Beyond her craft, Barbara's talent extends to design, as she beautifully crafted our International Women's Day flyer for this year. We are deeply grateful for Barbara's unwavering dedication to supporting the MMM mission and enriching our local community.
Get to know more about A Happy Mush by reading our interview below.
Tell us a little about how A Happy Mush got started.
A Happy Mush was created after a desperate attempt to find some sort of joy and calmness during a very stressful and uncertain time in my life. It was the last semester before graduating university, so the terrifying question of “what’s next?” was heavily present, with no answer in sight. However, it was the arrival of COVID during the beginning of 2020 that seemed to heighten all the anxiety and pressure I was already feeling. As a way for me to try to get my mind off things, I would try painting or doing some sort of artsy project every chance I could get. However, I realized that I’d still catch myself overthinking and worrying, so I decided to keep my brain occupied and instead learn how to make little flower beaded rings and bracelets; Afterall, jewelry making had been a favorite activity of mine when I was little since every christmas or birthday, my aunt would gift me bracelet-making-kits! Eventually I started wearing the rings and bracelets I had made or I’d post them on my stories to share my progress. That’s when to my surprise, a lot of friends and even random people who followed me on Instagram began commenting things like “if you ever sell them, I’d love to buy one” or “Can I pay you to make me some so I can gift them to my friends/family?”. After hearing all the positive feedback and receiving an incredible amount of support from loved ones and strangers alike, the idea of actually doing something with it was planted. Given the fact that I didn’t have much of a concrete plan for after graduation or a serious job tying me down since we were still in a pandemic, it seemed like the perfect time to try something like this out. I still remember that the second I decided I wanted to follow through with this path,despite not knowing where it would lead, everything just felt right and aligned in a way I can’t explain. I knew that even though I’d only be making beaded rings and bracelets, my vision for this went way beyond that. And so, after a week of writing down all the words I liked and playing around with them, A Happy Mush was born!
Describe your journey of becoming a creative/artist/maker?
Ever since I can remember, taking part in creative activities such as painting, making little sculptures out of clay, or any other crafty projects, have always been my own way of connecting with myself and calming any anxious feelings I’m experiencing at the moment. Truthfully, I don’t think the concept of what it means to be creative can be separated from who i am as a person. It’s why it makes me sad when people say things like “I’m not an artist” or “I’m not creative” because I believe we all are and I can’t imagine what the absence o that looks like; It just may be that the way that creativity is manifested looks different from person to person. To expand on my answer, I guess my journey of becoming an artist or maker has just been the life experiences I’ve gone through and having had the privilege to find comfort in art and what I can do with it. It also helped that my mom would try to involve me in crafty activities she’d set-up at her job at a children’s library when we lived in Mexico and continued that at home when we immigrated to this country.
“Try to learn how to be your own cheerleader and number one fan, especially when it comes to your work. ”
Where do you draw inspiration from to create your art ? And, who inspires you creatively and in life?
I think everything (and I do mean everything) stems from my inner child, as well as my childhood dreams, emotions, and the way in which I perceived the world. Anytime I’m stuck trying to come up with a design or an illustration, I end up relying on being inspired by my favorite books from childhood, as well as the cartoons I loved watching. Even in moments when I’m overly critiquing or second guessing a design or piece of jewelry, I ask myself this question: “would any version of you as a child like this and think highly of it?” and the answer is almost always yes! Even when I go to bookstores, I end up in the children’s section admiring all the artwork that goes into every book and taking notes on color combinations, illustration styles, patterns that were used, the simplicity of an illustration or the complexity of another one, and I end up leaving so full of ideas! In terms of who inspires me creatively and in life, I’d say all my loved ones and the people I intentionally choose to surround myself with do just that. So unknowingly these people empower me to be the best version of myself by embodying qualities I feel I may lack: sometimes they inspire me to unapologetically speak up for myself, other times they inspire me to have fun and make time for the joys of life, or to get up every day and fight for my dreams regardless of the circumstances, and the list goes on and on. I’m just so honored to be in an environment that keeps me feeling motivated, moved, empowered, and artistically energized!
We’re in love with our art flier for International Women’s Day— How did you come up with this design?
When I was approached about this flier, I was beyond honored since it was going to be for International Women’s Day, so it was a no-brainer for me that the feeling of “empowerment” be front and center. I knew the Mujeres Makers Market team wanted to pay homage to the first flier they ever created and so I decided to do my own take on it. The hands were a very important aspect of the flier and therefore I wanted to base my design around that, but have a few additions on it. It was essential for me to include flowers one way or another since I associate them with growth and their journey of blossoming from a small seed into a beautiful flower is something a lot of us can relate to; sometimes in more ways than one. They also are a personal reminder that in order to blossom, not only does work have to be put in, but so does love and care and attention. I wanted both of the hands to not only be holding, but also lifting up the flower together because that was my way of representing what I have found within this community of people: an overwhelming amount of encouragement, support, and upliftment. Ever since the first MMM event, which coincidentally also ended up being my first market ever, I felt the warmest and most enthusiastic welcome ever from all the people there. Although I didn’t realize it then, this moment was actually something that played a significant role in my own journey as a creator & AHM; that particular market made me feel, for the first time ever, that I was at the right place, doing the right thing. That is why I also purposefully decided to make the main color of the flower orange since it tends to represent happiness, optimism, creativity, warmth, and upliftment; all adjectives I’d also use to describe Mujeres Makers Market and the people I’ve met through there.
We’ve seen you grow so much as a vendor over the last year. Do you have any advice to give new vendors? Any best practices you’d like to share?
I’d say the first piece of advice would be to not be so hard on yourself; no matter the situation, go easy on yourself. You can watch as many reels and tiktoks regarding being a first time vendor at any market, and things might still happen! The key to these moments is to reflect and learn from them, and having them in mind when planning your next popup. Every market is different too, so don’t be discouraged if buyers don’t necessarily gravitate to a product you thought would be a” bestseller”; sometimes what might work in one market, might flop in another one and vice versa, so just have fun creating and bringing your visions to life. Also, and this one's a reminder for myself: don’t forget to drink! some! water! and! eat! food!!!
We’d love to hear what’s new that’s coming for A Happy Mush or a new collection you’re working on.
At the moment, A Happy Mush is undergoing a bit of make-over behind the scenes. I want to start growing my mostly-all-jewlery-brand into something beyond just that. Since I love creating and experimenting with various other artistic mediums, I want AHM to reflect that. For now, I’ve started introducing more one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces and collectible ghosties, as well as began sharing more of my illustration work, but I’m trying to plan the next step in the expansion of my little AHM universe. Whatever that is, I know for sure that I want to find ways to collaborate with other small businesses, as well as dream brands!
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Whatever activity it is I’m about to do on my spare time, just know that I’m going to need an iced (extra extra iced) oat latte in hand. So if I’m not hanging out in one of our local coffee shops people watching, I’m probably either hanging out with my friends, browsing through thrift shops or other second hand stores, at the beach having a little picnic drawing, journaling, or “reading a book” (aka getting distracted every 5 minutes, pretending to read), or at home trying to learn a new hobby to add to the list of random skills I’ve acquired.
Any tips you’d like to leave our readers for those considering starting a business?
Try to learn how to be your own cheerleader and number one fan, especially when it comes to your work. One thing I’ve learned is that not everyone will understand your vision or even agree with it, but so let them. Trust me, my jewelry has been “misunderstood” and I’ve had to explain it more times than I can count, but I still stand by it. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to your community for help or advice if you’re stuck on something! You’d be surprised just how many people are willing to lend out a hand or advice or even offer up a connection when they themselves can’t be of help! We’ve all been there and know what it’s like to feel the overwhelming sense of confusion about what to do or how to do something, and in turn have also been offered help by others! Lastly, I don’t think anyone actually has everything figured out, so don’t feel bad or think less of yourself for feeling like you don’t. Lot of us have just been/still are winging it and that’s okay because it’s all just a learning experience!
You can find Barbara’s work, here, and at our IWD market on March 3rd!
