Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendell Santiago.
Hi Wendell, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. I was determined that I would cure cancer, motivated by the loss of my birth mother to breast cancer and my adoptive mother to brain cancer. That changed during my freshman year at Morehouse College when I realized that my part-time job working at Starbucks lit my fire more than studying biology. I loved that Starbucks was the center of the community and how good it felt to serve others.
The day-to-day decisions to deliver a better experience ultimately leading to more revenue excited me. So I decided to pursue business instead, where I could have a real-time impact on people. Over the next few years, I climbed the corporate ladder, ultimately achieving what I thought was my dream of a corporate-level position. But it wasn’t a dream; I was overworked and felt empty. I realized that not every business shared the same values that I saw in my first position and that ultimately, if I wanted to be happy, I had to do something on my own.
The question was what? So I started looking at different things I could do. I knew I wanted whatever it was to have a positive impact on the lives of others, but nothing I could think of relit that fire I felt from Starbucks. Approaching thirty and still without a clue, I felt a push to figure it out. In a moment of reflection, I realized I never really dived into my Puerto Rican roots. I knew some things, but I never asked about my Mom because it always felt too hard.
So I decided for my birthday I would go to Puerto Rico and learn about her culture. While exploring the arts of Old San Juan, I smelled an incense that led me into a beading shop. Browsing the colorful assortment of strands, I came across these beautiful white faceted beads. As I picked them up, the older woman behind the counter asked me if I would like to make them into a necklace and suggested I find a pendant. I found a heart pendant and agreed.
Watching her turn my selections into a necklace, I felt like I was a kid again watching my grandmother make me a gift for my birthday. Leaving the shop, with a new necklace around my neck, I never felt more Puerto Rican. While taking pictures outside the shop to celebrate my new gift, I heard a voice say: “You could be doing that.” I knew exactly what was meant by those words; the fire was lit again. So I returned home and began to watch videos on how to make necklaces. Making them for myself at first, people liked them.
Strangers wanted to buy designs I created for myself, so I opened a shop online. I chose the name Linda & Lilo, paying homage to the Angels who guide my brand, my Moms. Lilo, my birth mom, was the seed of inspiration, the culture and spiritual experience of my time in Puerto Rico. Linda, my mom who raised me, as the source of style and taste, as growing up she taught me everything I know about style and design.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say it’s been a 50/50 journey. I am fortunate to have a fellow entrepreneur as a sister (@energywicks) and a community of visionaries surrounding me, so getting started was the easy part. On the other hand, in my first year or so of business, I was working a full-time job that did not support my physical or mental health.
I suffered from depression, which led to imposter syndrome as I questioned: if I am feeling this way, how can I spread healing to others via our products? I was ultimately able to better manage this by learning Vipassana meditation and enrolling in therapy. Outside of the mental struggles, selling high-quality jewelry is not inexpensive.
No loans or grants to support the brand, I’ve had conversations with vendors who have flat-out told me, ‘You don’t have the money for that.’ Sometimes they have attempted to substitute the gemstone I requested with a lower-quality one. As a queer person of color, being second-guessed is something that I am familiar with, so I wasn’t shocked, but I quickly learned that education and asking for second opinions would ensure that I received the best products.
As you know, we’re big fans of Linda and Lilo. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Linda & Lilo is a crystal and gemstone jewelry brand. Our specialty lies in handcrafted jewelry that blends the healing properties of gemstones with versatile styles that can be worn every day. In addition to our online offerings, we extend our commitment to healing and community through beading workshops. These workshops aim to bring the therapeutic practice of beading with gemstones to local communities and businesses, fostering connection, and providing individuals with a meaningful healing practice.
One of our proudest initiatives is our Angel’s Share program, which empowers our community to make a difference. Through this program, 6% of the proceeds from each order are dedicated to a cause chosen by the customer, allowing us to give back to communities and causes close to our hearts. Visit lindaandlilo.com to shop our jewelry or inquire about collaborating with us on a beading workshop for your community.
What’s next?
In the future, I look forward to more collaborations to integrate our beading workshops into wellness programming and team-building events. I invite businesses seeking to prioritize employee well-being and address low morale or high turnover rates, and organizations looking to introduce innovative wellness programming to join us in this endeavor.
I also look forward to traveling more and launching new collections that showcase the diverse culture of us as people of color. I imagine campaigns telling the stories of artisans from Atlanta to Puerto Rico and beyond, offering people a glimpse into art and culture they may not otherwise come across. I imagine a Mom, Dad, Aunt, or Uncle like me passing down a Linda & Lilo necklace, connecting future generations to these stories.
Through these initiatives, my goal is twofold. One, I aim to bring wellness into corporate culture to help create space for mindfulness in places where we are often just seen as workers and not humans. Two, to help someone heal and reconnect with a part of their history that may have been lost, much like how my journey to Puerto Rico helped me to reconnect to my own.
Contact Info:
- Website: lindaandlilo.com
- Instagram: @lindaandlilo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendell-santiago
Image Credits
@digitalbydash & @jelijahphotos
