Meet the Team: Leah Ortega
Welcome to our first-ever Meet the Team feature on our blog! We're thrilled to introduce Leah Ortega, one of the brilliant minds behind Mujeres Makers Market. As our co-founder and the creative force steering our Brand Marketing, Leah stands as a staunch supporter of local businesses and POC entrepreneurs.
Dive into our interview to learn more about Leah's journey and vision for Mujeres Makers Market.
What is your current role at Mujeres Makers Market?
To get to my current role I will give you a little backstory on how I got to the current role that I serve at Mujeres Makers Market.
When we started Mujeres Makers Market in 2021 our team would distribute tasks and we quickly realized that as MMM continued to grow we needed to create roles in order for it to be sustainable for each of us. We ended up creating roles based on our business needs and for almost a year we rotated roles to figure out what our strengths are and what each of us enjoys. During that process of rotating roles, I realized my strengths are marketing and design which led me to the Brand Marketing role. My job is to build a strong brand identity but also look for ways to grow the brand through partnerships and collaborations.
What’s your favorite thing about being part of the MMM Team?
There are a lot of things that I love about being part of the MMM team. The best part is the impact we are making in our community. I love the community we've all built together, from our vendors to our market supporters. I love the feeling each month when we all gather for our markets. Last but not least I love my team! Our team has built a strong bond and I couldn’t imagine doing this market without them. We are all so different and bring something unique to the table. I'm so glad we met for coffee on IWD of 2021, love you, girls!
I was hoping you’d tell us a little about your passion as an interior designer, how long you’ve been designing and what inspires you to keep doing what you’re doing.
I've been an interior designer for about a year and a half now, I work at a firm that specializes in hospitality and high-end residential interior design. What I love about interior design is the feeling a space can make you feel, and how you can be creative with patterns, colors, and textures.
The lack of representation for women of color in the interior design industry is what inspires me to keep doing interior design. This past year I was at a client’s house doing an install (this is where the whole project comes to life) and I spoke Spanish to the general contractor. I can remember how stunned he was that I spoke Spanish and that I was a Latina. I quickly realized the little representation Latinx, Asian or Black have in the industry. Only 7.2% of interior designers are Latinx and I hope to bring more representation to the design industry, I'm not sure how I plan to do that yet but that's my goal.
Leah, you’re passionate about supporting local entrepreneurs and creatives. I wanted to know how you originally got plugged into the maker community in SB and what drives your passion.
Two of my friends got me plugged into the market community. My girl Elysia encouraged me to start selling vintage and my friend Emilia got me plugged into the market community. Emilia graciously invited me to share a vendor space with her at Farmer and the Flea in Feb. of 2021, it was both of our first markets, and i’m so happy I got to start off selling vintage with her.
“What drives my passion is finding treasures for people to enjoy in their homes. I love chatting with my customers and sharing the stories of where I found things or sharing ideas about how they can use their treasures in their homes.”
What was your favorite memory about MMM?
There are a lot of good memories but I will still never forget our first market on Milpas street. Leading up to our market I was so nervous that no one would show up and the community showed up that day! I can't believe the amount of support we have received since then, thank you community!
What are you currently reading or listening to?
I'm not currently reading anything but what I have on my nightstand and need to start to reading is For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts A Love Letter to Women of Color by Prisc Dorcas Mojica Rodiguez. I was inspired to read this book by my friend Courtney and can't wait to start it.
Some of the podcasts I like to listen to are La Platica, Business of Hype and Yo Quiero Dinero.
Leah and her pet pal, Benny.
We’d love to know what some of your favorite things to do in Santa Barbara are, when you're not working, of course!
Some of my favorite things to do when I'm not working are to go get a latte with friends, go to markets, shop vintage and eat good food.
How can people find you? What’s the best way to check out all your magic?
People can find me on Instagram at @ortegavintagegoods or @leahmortega but the best way is to attend a Mujeres Makers Market and come say hi.
