BIOGRAPHY / DIANA MAGAÑA

Hello, my name is Diana Magaña, I was born in Mexico City.

I love my culture, nature and the color it gives us.

I am a lover of my culture and the different craft techniques found in it. This increased my curiosity to research, study, and practice these techniques today. It is amazing how each of these techniques make and complement an accessory or product in our lives.

Now I am going to tell you, how it was that I got "soaked" in this world that led me to dedicate myself to this today.

Three years ago, I was out of work and didn't want to go back to the office work life (at least not for a while) where you live with so much stress. After 13 years of working in a global company, I decided to take time to reflect on what I was really passionate about and wanted to do for the rest of my life. I needed to find a job that would make me feel happy, complete and eager to continue learning and growing every day. I wanted to make a mark and that whatever I did, it would be reflected in something that would give me complete satisfaction.

The first year I dedicated it to the remodeling of my house. I did not want to get rid of things that had special sentimental value, when they only needed to be restored. It was at that moment that I realized that just giving an accessory or object a second chance can give a space more life and color. I watched countless YouTube videos, mostly gardening, carpentry, and upholstery tutorials, which was what I wanted to restore at the time.

It was then that talking with a great friend and architect Julio Serrano, he told me that he took several courses that helped him to continue updating and developing in his company.

He highly recommended me to look for the different courses offered on the CECATI (Industrial Work Training Centers) campuses. This is how I finally decided to enroll in CECATI No. 13 located in the south of Mexico City, in a general carpentry course.

A couple of months later, they opened an upholstery one and without thinking I signed up as well. I was studying both courses at the same time and I loved this because they complemented each other a lot. At this stage of my life, I met wonderful people who contributed a lot to me, learning and enjoying their experience and knowledge a lot.

I kept increasing my interest in learning more trades and techniques that would help me do a more "complete or elaborate" job so to speak ... I wanted to keep learning more techniques with the use of different materials and thus be able to give added value to the pieces .

Unfortunately, it caught up with us and paralyzed everything. School could no longer be attended and I traveled for a time to my parents' house. There I practiced a lot what I had learned in my courses and helped them restore some furniture.

In the meantime, I kept researching how I could continue with my courses and I came across these two options:

Crehana and Domestika

In the first one, I enrolled in several embroidery courses, which I loved because it gave me many ideas to apply them to clothing and accessories.

Pinterest is one of my favorite applications, especially for the ease of searching and finding new ideas, which helped me to materialize everything I had in mind.

At Domestika I found a variety of courses, such as: Making Concrete Furniture, PVC Weaving, Basketry, Embroidery on different Looms, Macramé, among many others.

This opened a window of options and opportunities for me in the world of crafts. It's amazing how you can create something spectacular with your own hands. This led me to value much more the work of an artisan who takes with him long hours of work, dedication and effort. When the pandemic allowed it, I went in search of artisans and went to a place that fascinates me personally: Chilapa, Guerrero, which is approximately one hour from Chilpancingo, Guerrero and that is where you can find all the artisans of the region selling its handicrafts. I found wonderful things that I could give my personal touch to.

At first my idea was to keep practicing, but my mother, seeing what she was doing, encouraged me to buy more things to be able to sell them. So, practicing my macrame technique, I customized several things, including a beautiful hammock for my cats, and a chair for my father, I had repaired a year before. Thus began my interest in practicing all that I had learned.

It was then that I remembered something that my best friend Paula Monroy told me, who, seeing me happy with everything I did, motivated me to open a gallery or virtual store, where I could show everything I did. Finally, I was encouraged and decided to start this project of creating a company that offered accessories and products handmade by Mexican artisans and personalized by me.