I love the power of connections through social media. I recently had the pleasure of having lunch with Lydia Guajardo Rickard the creative genius behind Que Chula Fort Worth.  We talked for hours about her life in Fort Worth, the mutual friends we share, and her passion to inspire others with the beauty of her Mexican heritage.

Inspired by the hand-embroidered traditions of Puebla dresses of her youth, Lydia creates unique one-of-a-kind purses, bags, and accessories. Each bag is carefully curated and designed to highlight and feature the embroidery patterns. No bag two bags are alike and each piece is completely made by hand – no mass production at all! Selections include a rainbow of colors mixed with denims and other fabrics. I love watching women’s faces light up as they share their passion with the world.

As I inspected her works I pointed out her attention to detail – reminding me of how my sister told me, “A good seamstress always pays attention to the parts of their creation others can’t see.” I shared this sentiment with Lydia and she agreed saying she learned all her meticulous sewing skills from her grandmothers.

Lydia deconstructs and uses an entire Mexican dress for her creations – nothing goes to waste. Her headbands use the neckline of the dress where most of the embroidery is the focus.  I am sporting the red headband with a center knot. I can tell you I will be adding more of her headbands to my summer wardrobe. I wore it the entire day and not once did I get a headache. She plans to have plenty of TCU purple headbands in stock for fall Purple Fridays!

I love to set a pretty table so Lydia brought along her napkin ring shells. She upcycles shells she picks up along the shore during her visits to Port Aransas, then adds beads and decoupage fabric to the inside. Knowing I love blue Lydia picked the perfect set of six for my blue willow place setting. These also make lovely add-ons to a bottle of wine – the perfect hostess and housewarming gift.

Just in time for graduation – her zippered travel bags are fully lined, and machine washable. She showed me how the patterns match on either side – that’s another example of her attention to detail.

My favorite in her collection- the reversible clutch handbag with a leather strap.  One side is a beautifully embroidered kelly green and the reverse is cork!  This bag will take me through the summer and will go with everything from cocktail parties to lunch with friends.

From what Lydia told me, she has so many new items launching and some exciting new patterns coming to her space at the new Market at Ridglea, an innovative new cooperative retail market in Fort Worth with over fifty vendors.  Be sure to follow Que Chula Fort Worth on Instagram and Facebook. Lydia gladly accepts custom orders.  I love supporting women and their small businesses. When you see Lydia be sure to tell her Mrs. Twist sent you!