Today we’d like to introduce you to Franchesca de la Cruz and Amanda Sanchez.
Franchesca, and Amanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Amanda and I met in 2016 at a job we both were not too fond of. I knew we were going to be friends after she showed me what she was reading, which was a book about the chakras and how to understand and balance them while living in the western world. We spoke about alternate realities, the occult, fairies, and the power of intentions. She got another job and we lost contact for about a year. Then, we saw each other again at a mutual friend’s beach party and we reconnected as if no time had passed at all. We started to the Goddess Project Co. in the Summer of 2018 because we wanted to create and personalize an online community that shares our interests, ideas, and knowledge on the divine feminine energy that is within us all. We specifically named it the Goddess project because to us this was the beginning of a journey and self-discovery. As eclectic brown/mixed Latinas, we wanted to merge the line between our fluid spiritual knowledge and our everyday life rhythms. We felt like we were not able to relate to many online communities because we explore a little of everything. We love goddess energy and every single female deity/energy we study has had a personal impact on us. Learning about them and their attributes have opened our eyes and hearts to the divine feminine energy; why it is so important to take that power back and use this creative energy to manifest. The Project is continuously growing with new ideas and connections. We just published “Growing with Intention, The Sunflower Journal” which takes you through the process of growing sunflowers as a way to set intentions and navigate through the process of manifesting our desires. The journal is under our new online store APOTHETONICA, which will have a variety of magical goodies like intentional beauty products and journals. Our beauty products are currently in production (handmade goodies take time) and we will be launching them in late September to mid-October. So, stay tuned with us!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Growth is not supposed to be smooth or easy. So yes, there have been some challenges. Sometimes, we would struggle with creativity and still do, to be honest. Creating content is not always easy, especially when we both have full-time jobs. I am also a full-time student, so time management is key. Working with Amanda however, has helped me so much with organization and dedication. Being business partners while also having a genuine friendship helps us with accountability and motivation #womenpower!!
Please tell us about Goddess Project Co. – what should we know?
The Goddess Project is exactly that; an ongoing project. A journey that connects us and other women the divine feminine. We learn about various philosophies and spiritual beliefs. We explore them and if we love it, we incorporate it into our lives. In a way making us eclectic spiritualists (not agnostic). We believe that within every woman, there is a supreme goddess that lives. If she is asleep, we want to help you wake her. If she is hungry, we want to help you feed her. If you don’t know her face, we want to help you name her. Our journey includes sharing ourselves with you; our magic, our thoughts, and ideas, and our intentional goodies like our home-made beauty products and the sunflower journal. Amanda and I balance each other well because we are both creatives and religion/spirituality nerds. When it comes to Goddess Project, I mainly like to focus on the creative content like photography, graphics, and branding, and of course making magic in the lab. While Amanda is crafty, innovative and detail-oriented. She’s the alchemist behind the handmade products and the expert with spreadsheets and numbers! We wouldn’t be where we are now if wasn’t for her magical creations. We both create social media content for Goddess Project and publish different blogs based on our topic of interest. The Goddess Project is fairly new and we’re just starting to activate and engage with our online store, Apothetonica. Apothetonica represents the connection between beauty and magic. We are hand-crafting beauty products like serums, balms, scrubs and botanical waters for the everyday goddess. All our products are homemade with love, intention, and mana. Mana is an essential component to everything we do. It is a term used within Melanesian and Polynesian people to describe a supernatural force or power (energy) that may be attributed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects. This energy is what connects us all and what gives everything life.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We love our small (but growing) online community and love the support of our followers, friends, and family. They have helped us on our journey so much! Our mamas have been incredibly supportive, which has been a beautiful experience. We also have IG mentors that have had positive impacts on us. Some badass empowering brujas and conscious accounts that inspire and motivate us are; @thehausofhoodoo, @allisonoliviamoon, @risingwoman, and @theinfinitesparkofbeing to name a few. Our main photographer (when I get to be in front of the camera) and many times our content strategist @xavsolo deserves big thank you and credit. He has contributed and supported us since the beginning.
Pricing:
- Growing with Intention: The Sunflower Journal (E-Book) $25.00
- Growing with Intention: The Sunflower Journal $40.00
- Beauty Products – Coming Soon!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goddessproject.co/apothetonica
- Phone: [email protected]
- Instagram: @goddessproject.co
Image Credit: Carlo Javier Garcia @xavsolo Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
