Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Ayala.
Hi Paula, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We’re a family of four who immigrated from Venezuela to Atlanta during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, driven by hope and a deep desire to build a better future. Our journey began in the food industry—cooking and selling homemade meals to friends, coworkers, and college friends. But we quickly realized how demanding the industry was for our family, and quickly decided to pivot away from it.
Our mother, a former political activist in Venezuela, has always been fought for freedom and human rights. In early 2023, she decided to make custom t-shirts for my sister’s 25th birthday trip to Disney. She fell in love with crafting, a passion she’d always had but never pursued professionally. That same year, we turned that passion into a business and officially launched Litas Design and Craft.
We started small registering our company in Cobb County, promoting our work on social media, and opening a pop-up shop at Painted Tree Boutique, where we sold personalized shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, gifts, and more. Our mission has always been to create meaningful, custom pieces that help people celebrate life’s moments, whether that’s a family reunion, a university event, or a business promotion.
Since then, we’ve had the privilege of working with clients like Kennesaw State and Emory University, and while we’re still a small family business, we’re proud of our growth. Every product we make is built with care, creativity, and heart—and we’re excited to keep expanding and sharing our craft with the community
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’d say the biggest bumps in the road we’ve had have been marketing and finances. Though we have had sales they have never been truly constant, and always through some yep of connection, our dream is to open an actual store but with lack of sales there is no much financing options available. Especially, for an immigrant family with small knowledge of the American system
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Litas Design and Craft?
We focus on personalized apparel and promotional items! We want our clients to feel like they matter to us because they do! The main thing that separates us from our competition is how connected we are to both our mission and clients. We always make sure our clients ideas are heard. We never make the designs unless our clients ask us to, we always give creative freedom so that our clients feel their product is as personal le as they want it to be. Our products consist mainly of shirts, sweatshirts, and promotional item, however, we can make anything personalized, even graduation regalia, or wedding decorations! I’d say one of the things we are most proud of is how open we are to change and improvement, we always ask for feedback to make sure our community is satisfied and knows we care for them, as well as, the strong desire we have to be known and make sure people can feel they can trust us with their most important moment
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up my family has always been close to each other. There is not a moment that I can remember that my family wasn’t present with me to support me no matter what I did. Personally I have always been interested in community. I grew up with friends visiting our home 24/7, literally, our house back home was always called the communal house because even the city mayor would drop by for a coffee visit. Personality wise, everyone in my family has always been outgoing, we like to party, we love to connect and make good memories with each other and with friends and extended family, as well as, deeply connected to sports, everyone in my family played a sport at some point, me and my sister were semi professional swimmers, my dad played Basketball, soccer, and Voleyball, and though my mom did not play a sport, she’s always been a huge basketball and soccer fan, she always told me about how when I was baby she would get up at 4 in the morning to watch the World Cup matches, and how she loved watching Michael Jordan play Basketball. To be honest, we are family that lives a challenge, that is why we decided to open our small business with little to no knowledge of the American system.
Pricing:
- Shirts: $12-$25
- Sweatshirts: $16- $35
- Kitchen supplies: depending on what is the order it can round between $35-$60
- Business kits based on client gifts: $30-$45
- Decorations for wedding depending on order size: starts at $120
Contact Info:
- Website: https://litasdesigncraft.store/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/litasdesigncraft
