My parents came from very humble families. My grandfather had a construction business coming from farmland, and my grandmother could never read or write. We were very spoiled. We had a nice house – and then, all of a sudden, we had nothing. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
The idea was to have something wearable that fit with my reality, which was being a mom with two young kids and not always wanting to wear jeans. I still wanted to wear interesting clothes, and the options out there I found were either very expensive or very cheap. There was a big gap in the middle. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
I wanted to start something in New York that focused on making products locally and, because I’d just had my second child, didn’t want to be traveling halfway across the world anymore. Originally, I wanted to open up a gallery space and sell things like cushions or blankets that didn’t have a season, and have friends or artists contribute. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
Because America doesn’t have a strong textile industry anymore, we have to bring things like fabrics, zippers, and color tape into the U.S., and having so many elements involved in production adds to the amount of waste. You might have some things coming from Italy, a button coming from China, or lining coming from Korea; it’s just endless. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
My shrink said to me once when I used to get really overwhelmed and super depressed because I was really run down between kids and the company and there was just so much going on – she said, ‘You know, you have to look after you in order for you to look after everybody else.’ Maria Cornejo Read Quote
I always say you can only change things from within. It’s all about energy. If it’s positive, then – even, like, somebody you don’t like, saying hello to them one day just switches the conversation, and instead of being angry, I think it’s good. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
If you feel good about yourself, even putting a little bit of makeup – I don’t usually wear makeup, but you know, someone said to me, ‘Why don’t you spend that extra five minutes to make yourself feel good?’ And it’s just a bit of self-care so you can go out and face the world, and I think we need that right now. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
Normally I sleep in until 7, and most days, I go right into the office. On Tuesdays, though, I stay home and do work. I need a day when I’m not in meeting after meeting. You need time to try to get into your head again and see what’s next. Maria Cornejo Read Quote
The fashion business got boring. I was working with big companies, but the minute it became too formulaic, I got bored with it. I wanted to do a creative space where I could just make stuff – kind of like an atelier, where I could collaborate with other artists, drape geometric shapes on the body, make cushion covers, or whatever. Maria Cornejo Read Quote