Today we’d like to introduce you to Ximena Rozo.
Ximena, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
From Love and Education to Empowerment and Progress:
I am a textile and Industrial designer. I moved to the United States from Colombia in 1998 to pursue my master’s degree in Industrial Design. Seventeen years later, I founded Ximena Rozo Design LLC, a sustainable enterprise based in the USA to support artisan craftspeople in Colombia. We combine contemporary styling with artisan, handcrafted production to deliver a unique home décor brand with luxury appeal while preserving and highlighting traditional crafts from South America. This is a very personal mission for me as I am from Colombia and grew up there until I moved to the U.S. 20 years ago; today, I have a company that empowers artisan communities back in my home country enabling progress and magnifying joy for users and producers.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As a former military spouse, I faced the challenges of constant relocations. Keeping up with my career success and maintaining my personal and professional goals was a challenge. But this continuous adjustment to new situations inspired me to be creative and to establish networks that support me and my community thus I found my business with the mission to bring to the market products that tell stories, emphasize functionality, innovation, superior craftsmanship—and provide a sense of home.
Another challenge as an entrepreneur is the access to financial support; a lot of startups support goes to the tech world but less to the home decor industry with social causes. Like any entrepreneur, it has been a challenge to wear multiple hats in the business as well as in my personal life. The joggling between my passion as a business owner, family responsibilities, and life is sometimes a challenge some times is the reward!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
From South America to the shelves of stores like Anthropologie, Ximena Rozo Design combines traditional designs and artisan techniques with the highest quality materials to create contemporary beautiful home accessories.
I feel very proud when I think about the end-user and the producer. Between these two worlds, there are many universes that must come together to bring our designs to life. There is nothing more rewarding than recognizing the role we play in connecting communities across continents. On one side of the globe, there is someone laying their head on one of my pillows or being covered by my throw, and on the other side, there is a hardworking artisan using their hands to make it. And in the middle designers, photographers, operation support, friends, mentors, and family bringing these artifacts and the enterprise to life. I have brought together so many talented teams in this whole process, and when I connect the dots and see the results coming to fruition, I experience an indescribably rewarding feeling. My work has been showcased in the U.S., Colombia, Japan, Italy, France, The Netherlands, and Colombia and bringing this stories life made me love what I do and continue the hard road of entrepreneurship and using design as a tool for positive transformation.
I think that what set us apart is our approach to design that emphasizes color vibrancy and rich tactile qualities—realized in un-conventional forms. Each piece in our home collections is made by integrating artisan communities from all around the country from indigenes, rural artisans to urban artisans, we have a distinctive look that speaks in a contemporary way of its place of origin. We make useful, decorative objects that create an emotional appeal through the joy of their use, the beauty of their form, the quality of their materials, and the stories of their makers. At XRD, our designs are vessels for emotional connection.
We work towards community empowerment and lead the brand’s product development under sustainable design solutions; these five principles sustain our company:
• HONOR // A contemporary take on tradition
• VALUE // Objects that tell stories
• EMBRACE // A sense of home
• EMPHASIS // Innovation, beauty, and functionality
• CELEBRATE // Sustainability for users and producers
What were you like growing up?
As a Latin person, I grow up being very family-oriented. With my parents and brothers, we were always traveling around the country, camping, hiking, and seeing different cultures inside and outside my home country. At the same time, I was very involved in social causes. As a teenager, I worked for five years as a volunteer in a program of sexual education and drug prevention for adolescents; while on this program I represented Colombia in a Latin-American conference in Mexico, where I was selected over 600 participates in presenting the proposal of the work developed during the conference as the voice of the teenagers. I am happy that later in life I was able to combine my interest in social work, my appreciation and respect for other cultures and my love for design. As designers, we have the skillset and mindset to frame challenges and to collaborate with others thinking holistically to solve problems in an innovative and empathically manner and be a catalyst for transformation.
Pricing:
- BLUE PILLOWS WITH TASSELS – $162
- NUNE IVORY Pillow 13 X 18 INCHES $128.00
- FLORA GREEN 9 X 8 INCHES $110.00
- VERDURA RUG $230.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ximenarozo.com
- Phone: 860 581 3384
- Email: design@ximenarozo.com
- Instagram: ximenarozodesign
- Facebook: Ximena Rozo Design
- Twitter: XimenarozoD
Image Credit:
Photo of me: Matt Gillespie
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