Meet the Artists: Aralue, a Covid Family Business

Mom and Daughters Make Minimal Designs for the Future

Artist snapshot: Rosy Luelmo, AraLue cotton bags (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico).
Why we love it: Rosy and her daughters offer a variety of really fun designs on their hugely practical, all-cotton bags to promote reuse and recycling.
Rosy’s magic: A playful invitation to an environmentally responsible lifestyle delivered with a light touch, humor and sweetness.

Like many of us, the challenges of Covid inspired Rosy to explore new paths for creativity and connection. She had recently retired from a career in banking when Covid forced the world into quarantine. During this same period Rosy’s father passed away. Suffering from the loss of her beloved parent, the end of her career and the vibrant social life of her city, Rosy became very depressed.

Luckily, she had her family to help her through this dark period. Rosy’s husband, Ivan, and her two college-age daughters, Paola and Montse, encouraged her to take the opportunity of being retired to try something new. Rosy knew she needed to stay busy, but she also knew busy-work wouldn’t be enough. She wanted a creative way to bring her values of environmentalism and a minimalist lifestyle to more young people in Guadalajara.

Rosy decided to try her hand at sewing reusable cotton bags, even though she’d never done much sewing before. Her mother-in-law, an excellent seamstress, provided the uncompromising quality control that brought Rosy’s embroidered bags to a professional level. The sewing provides exercise she needs for her arthritis, although she has to be careful not to overdo it.

Today, the family is supporting a growing business selling their bags at open air markets and online. Ivan is a woodworker and has joined the family’s craft movement by creating vases and lamps with recycled wood. Paola came up with the name AraLue by combining her parents’ last names – Aranda and Luelmo. She and her sister Montse help with the business as much as they can while studying for their degrees in bio-engineering and medicine.

Rosy’s favorite designs are playful, minimal takes on famous images like Klimt’s The Kiss. She hopes her business will continue to grow and contribute to a greener future. You can find Aralue on Instagram.