A few months back I was invited by the master of all that is handmade, Jen Wallace of Indie Fixx, to be a contributor to her latest issue of Joie Magazine. Joie is an online only publication that is “all about the art of joyful living. It’s a lifestyle mag and covers art, craft, living, design, fashion + more.” This issue revolved around the theme of “merrymaking” so when I was asked to conceptualize an article to write, naturally I thought about my favorite merrymaking activity.. parties!! I came up with a fiesta inspired holiday party concept complete with DIY decor ideas and a menu that is affordable and easy for anyone to recreate (I even included an idea for a cute party favor!) Want to read all about it? Be sure and check out Joie and please consider contributing $1.99 to the magazine to help support the talented folks that have helped put this together.

Yesterday, my recent interview with a Interviewher was posted on their very cool and very beautiful site. Interviewher is dedicated to sharing the stories of successful women who have “self-started their own business ideas and trends.” I was incredibly flattered when I was contacted by them last month for this interview about how I developed LAMA. It is quite an extensive interview covering topics such as how I got started, challenges that I have overcome as a business owner, and point by point advice on how to start your own successful online shop (this would be a great read for anyone thinking about taking the plunge into e-commerce).

Thank you again Interviewher for inviting me to participate in this fun interview. It was a great way for me to reflect on the journey I’ve been on for the past couple of years and share what I’ve learned with other aspiring business women.

Interviewher is always looking for awesome women to interview so if you’re interested in sharing your story, be sure to contact them here and let them know who you are.

A couple of months ago I was asked to do a mini interview with Living Magazine in Argentina. I’ve been a magazine junkie my entire life (starting with my subscription to Cat Fancy when I was seven), and I never imagined I would ever see my own face on a glossy page. Dream come true! The interview is in Spanish but I’ve gone ahead and translated it into English below. Please forgive the rough translation. Trust me, it’s much prettier in Spanish.

Love For Latin America

The origins of her mother- born and raised in Ecuador- made the American girl Christine Martinez take a pause in her career as an interior designer to travel throughout Latin America. In her travels, she discovered “the most interesting and beautiful design work that she’s ever seen” and she decided that her mission, upon returning to Los Angeles, would be to make accessible the work of independent designers to the US market.

This was the way LAMA designs was born, a site from which she makes known the best of Emi Elias – “owner of one of my favorite stores in Buenos Aires, CouCou” – Cecilia Sonzini, Jimena Rios, and Lola Goldstein, among other Argentinean designers.

What is it that you like the most about Argentinean design?

The quality of work, their construcion, as well as the design. The Argentinean designers are not only looking to keep up with the rest of the world, they also want to transform themselves into leaders in the design community.

What particular traits does Latin American design have?

It is sophisticated and it speaks for itself. It is a well informed society and it is so exciting to see how a very strong movement, like the recycling of materials, is opening new paths and is being used in some of the most beautiful and creative forms that I have seen.

Thank you Living Magazine for this interview. I’m am truly honored. Also, to the incredible Argentinean designers who have read the article and submitted your work to me, thank you! I am so happy we have found each other! LAMA is getting ready to make some big changes and I’m thrilled to have so many of you on this new journey to bring forth Latin American design. I’m always taking submissions so please email LAMA at info@lamadesigns.com. Muchas Gracias!!

A couple of months back I was thrilled to receive notice that LAMA had been nominated for an Oakland Indie Award in the “Innovator” category. The Oakland Indie Awards celebrate the social and environmental impact of Oakland’s independent businesses and artist. Naturally, I was extremely flattered and honored to have LAMA considered for this award by a city I love so much. This past Friday, I nearly jumped through my office roof when I found out that LAMA had gone from nominee to FINALIST!

The whole experience has been so fun and rewarding. The nominee mixer a few weeks back was such an inspiring evening, and learning about the other nominees has been really special. I can’t wait to attend the award ceremony over at Jack London Square. It looks like a great event with tons of fantastic food, awesome folks, and Oakland pride! The event takes place on the evening of May 14th from 5:30-9. If you’re in the area, I highly suggest you come out to celebrate and support the people that make Oakland such a great place to live. Ticket info can be found here. A big THANK YOU to everyone who nominated and supported LAMA! I am deeply touched and honored.

I was so excited when the lovely Alisa Openshaw asked me to do a fun interview on her stylish blog, A Piña Colada. Alisa was one of the many amazing people I had the pleasure of meeting at the Altitude Design Summit in January. I’m so happy we’ve stayed in touch.

Aside from a fun interview, we’ve decided to do a giveaway! The prize? Our adorable, fun, and eco-friendly Fiesta Flags in the color of your choice! To find out how you can win you very own Fiesta Flags, head over to A Piña Colada for details. Good luck everyone and Happy Friday! Thank you again Alisa for inviting me to be a part of your beautiful blog.

Always great to wake up and find a sweet mention on a cool blog. Thanks Urban Style Vibes! We think our Fiesta Flags are perfect for summer also!

Check out the full post here.

Recently, Imagine Magazine based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, interviewed the amazing Calu Fontes (one of my favorite artists and someone I’m proud to work with at LAMA). Aside from a great write-up about her work, Calu was able to curate a spread of her favorite products from Brazil and beyond. I was so excited to see that among her favorite product picks was one of LAMA’s Vintage Wallpaper Notebook’s from Argentinean designer Mercedes Hernaez! Thank you Calu and Imagine Magazine for the mention! (If only I could read Portuguese!)

To view the Calu Fontes collection available at LAMA, click here. To check out more of Calu’s incredible work on flickr, click here.

A HUGE thank you to Oh Joy! for the wonderful mention on your blog today. I couldn’t be more excited about this! Check out the post here.

Check out the travel accessories featured here at LAMA!

I am the creator, founder, president, ceo, chairman, ambassador, etc. of the “I hate Mondays” club. Mondays are no fun. That’s why it was especially nice to find this morning that Apartment102 had such nice things to say about LAMA over the weekend. Thanks for the mention! I can deal with this particular Monday.

To check out Apartment102 and read the full post, click here.

One of my favorite things about owning LAMA is receiving sweet emails from people who are fans of the site. Who doesn’t love a great compliment? Over the weekend, I received a great email from Stephanie who hosts a weekly inspiration challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Splitcoaststampers is an online community for paper crafters who love rubber stamping, card making and scrap-booking. This week’s inspiration challenge hosted by Stephanie was based on favorite LAMA products. Challenge participants were asked to create a greeting card based on either Stephanie’s product picks or on their own. What a fun weekend challenge! Below are images of some of the great entries. Can you tell which LAMA products inspired these cards?

Ann’s entry

LacyQuliter’s entry

Barbarar20′s entry

MaryR917′s entry

Kim Scotti’s entry

flmom’s entry

Stephanie’s entry

Thank you Stephanie for drawing your inspiration from LAMA! It was so much fun to check out all of these beautiful cards. To view all of the great entries, click here.