We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Torres Molinar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran began in the fall of 2021 in the back of an SUV on the way to a concert. My friend/business partner, Laura, and I had occasionally talked about the idea of starting a sticker business to promote mental health in our community, although never with the real intention of actually doing it. For some reason though, during this ride, we were inspired enough to begin the process of thinking through how we could make our idea a reality.

Laura and I met in 2018 when we were hired as community organizers for a local non-profit in Fort Collins. It was through our work that we became great friends and realized we both had a passion for mental health issues and working with our Latine/x community. As a result of these two things, we both wanted to do something to spread awareness and to encourage others (specifically Latine/x folks) to talk about their mental health openly and without shame. Both Laura and I have had our own struggles with mental health and know how hard it can be to talk about within our families and communities. There is often this idea within the Latine/x community and culture that struggling with a mental illness or going to see a therapist means you’re “crazy.” We hoped that through artwork and our stickers, we could destigmatize this issue and people in our community would find the strength and courage to seek help when needed, whether by seeking out therapy, medication, or general emotional support from the people in their lives.

As we continued forming the idea for our business, one of the big things we struggled with was the name. Before it was the name of our business, Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran was actually just an idea for a sticker we had aimed at normalizing crying and other difficult emotions, especially for “Chingonas” who often feel pressure to “keep it together” and never seek help or emotional support. The name translates to “Badass Women Cry Too,” and after creating the first design of this series, it magically clicked that this should be the name of our business given that Laura and I are two Chingonas who cry a lot. And so, Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran went from an idea to becoming the fully formed business it is today.

What should our readers know about your business?
Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran (LCTL) started with only 3-4 sticker designs which we initially only sold to family and friends. Since then, we have grown quite a bit and we now sell over 50 different stickers, as well as art prints, bookmarks, and t-shirts. We also expanded to selling online, at in-person markets, and wholesale to other businesses in Fort Collins and throughout the United States. This is something that we are extremely proud of as it has not been easy due to the fact that both Laura and I work full-time jobs (and then some) and have expanded and maintained the business on our spare time. Additionally, neither Laura or I have any background in business or accounting and have had to learn a lot and seek consultation and support in order to get the business running properly. It has taken a great deal of persistence, patience, and perseverance to grow and get to where we are now.

I think what sets us apart from other sticker businesses is both our focus on mental health and the use of our Latine/x culture as part of our sticker designs. Through our initial research we did find many sticker designs and businesses focused on mental health but none that were focused on the Latine/x community or that included designs in both English and Spanish. Similarly, we found many sticker designs and businesses that did focus on the Latine/x community with designs in English and Spanish, but very few that were focused on mental health issues. One of my favorite things we get to do is create stickers which use aspects of our culture in the design along with fun play-on-words, or Latine/x dichos or sayings. For example, we have a sticker of a Mexican clay coffee mug with the words “Calma-Te” on it. The words translate to both “calm down” and “calming tea” and it’s an exciting moment when someone sees that sticker and understands the double meaning. It feels like we are finding and creating community just by selling these stickers.

It’s been a very meaningful and fulfilling journey overall and the biggest lesson for me has been about vulnerability and courage. I mention vulnerability because starting any business is vulnerable but especially so when it’s about something so personal and sometimes polarizing as mental health. When embarking on anything new there is vulnerability because putting yourself out there means you risk being judged by others, having your work critiqued, and the possibility of failing. And because of this, it takes great courage to pursue your goals and do the things anyway. So I am grateful for the opportunity to be vulnerable and courageous as we encourage others to do the same and prioritize their mental health and seek support when needed.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, I’m a big fan of all things interesting, creative, and artsy so if I’m creating the itinerary, we would definitely be going to the Denver Art Museum, Meow Wolf, the Museum of Nature and Science, and if there’s children involved, the Children’s Museum of Denver. We would also hit up the Aquarium which I love visiting and taking cool photographs of all the fish and finish with the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would like to dedicate this to our family and friends, who have supported our dreams and encouraged us to bring this idea to life and obtain the success it has so far. We also want to thank the Fort Collins Multicultural Business and Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) and the Larimer Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for all their help with making Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran (LCTL) and official registered business and for support with the accounting, marketing, and business planning aspects of LCTL. Lastly, we would like to dedicate this to our community and everyone who has purchased a sticker from us or is in the fight to destigmatize and spread awareness of mental health issues.

Website: laschingonastambienlloran.com

Instagram: @laschingonastambienlloran

Facebook: Las Chingonas Tambien Lloran

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.