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Jewelry through a journey: Mexican artist showcases her roots in Racine, advocates for mental health

The Journal Times - 4/5/2021

Apr. 5—RACINE — Maria Orozco Gamez pulls out a tiny piece of yellow polymer clay from the big chunk she's got on her desk.

"A little goes a long way," Orozco Gamez says as she rolls the clay out into a long strip. From there, she fractions it into smaller pieces, then flattens them out into petals.

The petals, someday, will form a sunflower that Orozco Gamez will place into an oven and make jewelry out of for her home-based small business in Racine, Mariposa Mexican Jewelry.

From the clay she uses to make her jewelry, to how she sources some of her jewelry from Mexico, and to her own personal identity, Orozco Gamez sees a lot of the progressions in her life as journeys: "Everything has a journey," she said.

Paper butterflies flutter about Orozco Gamez's room, where she makes all of her jewelry. It clicks then: Even the mascot of her brand, the mariposa — or butterfly in Spanish — goes through journeys, from its metamorphosis to its migration to the south. There's even a butterfly reserve in Michoacán, Mexico, where Orozco Gamez is from.

"I identify with a butterfly," Orozco Gamez, 24, said. "The butterfly is strong and brave because of all the things that it has to go through."

Collaboration and donation

Orozco Gamez's newest project and collaboration is with Esperanza Coffee Collective, a drive-thru coffee shop at The Branch at 1501, which also has a butterfly for a logo.

The collaboration is a two-piece earrings set: One pair is made of Esperanza coffee beans, with the word "love" or "hope" or "amor" (that's "love" in Spanish) painted on each bean, and the other is a set of butterfly earrings.

"We connected on what we were trying to do," said Sergio Molina, owner of Esperanza Coffee Collective, where the coffee is made with coffee beans from Molina's family farm in Guatemala.

Molina continued, "We're both trying to bring a piece of us from our homes to our communities in Wisconsin."

The two met when Orozco Gamez came by for coffee. They instantly knew they had to work together on something, they said. Orozco Gamez called their serendipitous meeting "magic."

Orozco Gamez set a $100 goal for the collaboration, but swiftly exceeded that goal when she sold jewelry at the lantern display launch in Uptown in late March.

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The proceeds from the collaboration will go to Sexual Assault Services of Racine. Orozco Gamez, who is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, began going to SAS when she was in sixth grade and said the staff there has helped her ever since.

"They're number one on my list because I've received free services from them all this time," Orozco Gamez said.

She added SAS is vital to the community, servicing those who may not be able to afford, or have access to the resources SAS provides for free.

"It's just like her to give back," said Vicki H. Biehn, rural services coordinator and a therapist for SAS who has worked with Orozco Gamez. "She's the most kindest, empathetic, caring, compassionate person I've ever met."

Mariposa Mexican Jewelry

For more information on Mariposa Mexican Jewelry and how to purchase, check out linktr.ee/MariposaMexicanJewelry. Maria Orozco Gamez makes her jewelry per order and can do pick-ups or drop-offs. Her collaboration with Esperanza Coffee Collective (esperanzacoffeecollective.com) is also made per order.

From Mexico to Wisconsin

Orozco Gamez's business began similarly as Molina's, with a deep dedication to sharing her roots. Orozco Gamez moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 2 years old, often moving across the country until she settled in Wisconsin. She and her family have been settled in Racine for about 15 years, she said.

In 2019, Orozco Gamez took a trip to Mexico and bought some earrings at a marketplace. When she came back, friends and family asked her where she got them from; from there, she saw a demand for authentic Mexican jewelry.

Orozco Gamez coordinates with her family in Mexico to pick jewelry from the markets and ship them all the way to Racine. "There's so much love put into it," she said.

The jewelry chosen is always handmade by Mexican artists, though Orozco Gamez said she never knows who the artists are.

"I hope to one day be able to say, 'This is the face of the person that made this, because it's important to know where it comes from,'" Orozco Gamez said.

Although the pandemic has halted Orozco Gamez's trips to Mexico, time at home gave her the opportunity to create her own Mexican-inspired jewelry.

Creating to uplift

"People want something handmade," Orozco Gamez said. "I've always loved creating and I have time to invest. I want to make sure my products last."

Orozco Gamez considers herself creative, and it comes from not having a lot when she was growing up, she said. Her family was always on the move and it encouraged her not to let anything go to waste.

Orozco Gamez, a philosophy major at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, said being creative also helps her manage her depression.

She said she advocates for mental health awareness and often made presentations about it during her time at Horlick High School. She even gave a speech about it as a finalist during Miss Latina Racine 2014.

Besides making jewelry, Orozco Gamez publishes videos on the social media platform TikTok and has over a thousand followers on her page, @mariamariposamj. Her TikToks range from showing her everyday life, to taking viewers through her process of packing orders, to sharing ways she manages her depression.

Through her work, Orozco Gamez said she wants to be a positive example to those who are struggling with their mental health.

"I want them to see, 'Look at all the struggles she's been through, but at the end of the day she still manages to create something for herself,'" Orozco Gamez said. "You have so much pain and that pain is validated. But you can still make something for yourself."

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