When Anielka Azarian was furloughed from her job as a flight attendant, she was left scrambling for a way to pay the bills. Happily, what came out of that experience was an exciting new business venture that she shares with her mother and sister back in her hometown of Campeche, Mexico.
Luna Maya Macramé was born back in 2020, when Azarian was doing what many Americans were doing during the beginning of the pandemic—redecorating her Arlington home and partaking in some online retail therapy.
“I had decided to order this wall hanging for my bedroom, and when my mom visited and saw it, she was like, ‘That’s very overpriced—why don’t you let me try and do it?’” says Azarian. “She said she had learned how to make them during a crafts class back in high school.”
A few months later, her mom returned with the wall hanging in tow.
“I posted it on my social media, and a lot of people just went crazy over it,” Azarian says. “So I thought, Wait a minute; if I can market these, maybe I can have a little side gig while I’m out of work.”
That side gig took off. Azarian started taking photos of her mom’s products, set up an Etsy shop called Luna Maya Macramé, and has since sold more than 100 pieces, including wall art, plant hangers, coasters, and tote bags, at an average price point of $30.
Her sister also began making goods for the store back in Mexico, and when the demand in the United States picked up, Azarian decided she needed to learn how, too.
“My mom taught me via FaceTime, and I started helping with the U.S. orders here,” she explains.
Azarian now runs the business out of her home workshop in Arlington while her mother, Ana Poot, and sister, Marintia Herrera, craft most of the orders in Mexico, which also happens to be the inspiration behind the shop’s name.
“I’m originally from Southern Mexico, where the Mayan culture is very important,” says Azarian. “We wanted to use something for the name that we really identified with, and the moon is very sacred for the Mayan culture.”
So they threw together some words and fell in love with how it sounded. “Mayan moon, or Luna Maya, is something that defines us as Mexican,” says Azarian. “And we feel it also defines our shop.”
The shop’s typical customers are women under 30. “During the early pandemic, it was a lot of women who had decided to do some redecorating,” says Azarian. “Right now, our customers are mostly women in their 20s and 30s who like wine and plants.”
The most popular item, especially during the holiday gifting season, has been the wine-bottle tote bags. The inspiration for those came from Azarian’s other job, as a yoga instructor.
“My mom knew I was going to be carrying a water bottle often, so she made me a bag to carry it in,” she says. “I used it one time to carry a bottle of wine, and everyone was like, ‘You need to make these.’”
So they did. The bags sold out in 24 hours.
In addition to the Etsy shop, Azarian has participated in a few local outdoor markets throughout the DMV area to sell her products. She’s a strong believer in the importance of supporting indie vendors and businesses.
“When you buy products that are from small businesses, that money goes directly to the makers,” she says. “It can really make a difference in people’s lives.” etsy.com/shop/lunamayamacrame
Feature image by Christin Boggs Peyper
This story originally appeared in our March issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.
