Mi Golondrina: Bringing Mexico’s beauty to the world

It takes a village of 800

Inspired by her mother’s Mexican heritage, Cristina Lynch founded Mi Golondrina in 2013 in Dallas, Texas, to showcase Mexican artistry.

A true collaboration, Mi Golondrina employs over 800 artisans from all over Mexico to hand-embroider garments using traditional techniques, which are then finished by the company’s in-house team in Dallas.

From blouses with beautiful handpulled lace in Aguascalientes, to dresses emblazed with intricately-embroidered Oaxacan flowers, each garment features techniques indigenous to specific villages, telling the story of the women whose hands it passed through.

Drawing on techniques that are hundreds of years old, some garments take up to six months to make, and can pass through three different communities, each with their own special area of expertise.

Cristina loves that "these embroideries represent that community the way a flag represents a city," and her goal is to help these artisans preserve these traditional techniques, which could go away if there’s no market for them.

Mother comes first

Cristina’s first and original collaborator was her mother, a successful fashion designer and Mexican art enthusiast.

The two travelled frequently to Mexico, staying at Cristina’s grandfather’s ranch and exploring the vibrant world of Mexican hand-crafted fashion and arts.

To this day, her mother is an active advisor and collaborator in the business.

A true business partner

Chase has been another key partner—one that Cristina has leaned on since she dreamed of starting this business at the young age of 23. She remembers that "when you're starting a business, everything seems so big, so scary, so unknown. I was scared to even just talk about money, but I knew I needed help. And to go into a branch and feel like I could ask anything and not feel silly, meant so much to me. And I felt like this was a safe place. The support that I received was really, really incredible."

I'll never forget when I figured out that the business was profitable. And I remember talking to people at Chase and them congratulating me as if they were a part of my team. That's really special.

These conversations forged an ongoing collaboration, with Cristina leaning on Chase to keep her collaborators in Dallas and Mexico employed and thriving.

The Mexican artisans rely on this income—it keeps them employed with fair wages, helps send their children to school, and ensures that their labor-intensive artisan traditions are lucrative, and therefore not abandoned.

Mi Golondrina relies on Chase’s Wire Transfers to send money to Mexican villages quickly for sewing supplies and artisan wages, and Chase Fraud Protection to make sure the transactions are sent safely.

Chase’s partnership during the pandemic helped Mi Golondrina make a vital pivot: with stores closed and inventory to move, Cristina "had to move everything online. If not, we wouldn't have had enough cash to support our business. Chase was absolutely incredible and so supportive. They held our hand the whole time."

Chase also provided a vital Paycheck Protection Program loan, which kept her workers employed.

"I feel so responsible for the women we work with. What's so important is continuing a traditional craft and making sure that we're a sustainable business that will exist for years to come. Growing our online business, and partnering with Chase, is what kept us in business."

El futuro

In less than ten years, Cristina has grown this business from passion project to profit, with her ever-growing team by her side: "I was so excited to show the beauty of Mexico. And as I grew, I think what was so wonderful was all the connections I made and all the people who supported me."

For the craft, that means the artisans. And for the business needs, that means Chase: "I've been with Chase for Business since the very beginning, and I don't know where Mi Golondrina would be without it."