Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirey Peralta Feregrino.
Kirey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I studied fashion design. When I graduated I began to work making custom clothes like prom dresses, quinceañeras dresses, etc., but I was not happy with what I was doing. At first I did not know why and then I realized it was because I was not creating anything new, so I decided to take a break, and with the support of my husband, I took time to rest and analyze what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to create new things, but I did not know what, so I began to sketch until I got some clothes and bags. I kept going with new purse ideas, because I love how a purse and accessories can make your outfit look better. Today I have my small business, I do what I love, and I’m really happy.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I took three years to officially make my first bag, and at first, I did not respect my dream. I treated it like a hobby because I really was very afraid of not achieving anything with this new project. When friends and family started to tell me that they were pretty I felt a little better and the next year and a half I went to several events and with the support of my husband I made several more models to sell. However, my big mistake was not knowing how to manage my finances, not believing that my product really was enough and so I sold my products at very cheap prices. Instead of winning I lost a lot of investment, until one day my husband told me he was sorry but that he couldn’t help monetarily. So, we come to this year where little by little I learned to manage my finances, not without first making many mistakes and thank god now my purses are located in 5 stores in Tijuana, I hope to be in San Diego soon.
Do you have any advice to share?
1-Don’t be afraid to do what you love, it is difficult, but we always learn and improve with our mistakes.
2-Learn you value and believe it.
Please tell us about your work.
I design leather bags and accessories with an innovative and minimalist touch. All the products until now are made mixing leather and a bit of wood. I am always looking for the best quality to offer the customer. A curious fact about my products is that they all have names inspired by important Mexican women of history, because I think we should make known the good of Mexico and also not forget about our past, roots, and culture, at the same time we should be able to use these women as inspiration to improve both ourselves and society.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
I know we have not advanced enough to have a total equality, but I am happy to live in this time because we have many different social media, where you can express yourself much more easily and if there are people wanting to silence your thoughts there are also people who do not stay silent anymore when they see someone else who needs support. So, in conclusion, I think the best position we have is that we no longer have fear like 15 or 20 years ago, we do not stay silent, we teach our daughters and sons to be different, to appreciate the variety of thoughts, appreciate liberty, to speak up and respect each other.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kireyperalta.com
- Email: kireyperalta@gmail.com
- Instagram: @kireyperalta
- Facebook: @kireyperaltastore
Image Credit:
@vicotinaa
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
