After many years of having an online presence and participating in various trade shows, and corporate events, such as NY NOW, NY Fashion Week, Mexico Week: Dia de Muertos at Rockefeller Center and Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women, Solano Exp now has a physical place for lovers of Mexican handcrafts to come to see the vibrant colors, feel the various textures of products and hear about the story of Solano Exp from its founder Gabriela Tutalo.
The Solano Exp store is located in Montclair, New Jersey, inside The Dick Grabowsky Montclair Mezzanine, next to the Claridge movie theater. This is a nostalgic moment since Solano Exp’s journey has now come full circle. Montclair is the city where it all started.
In 2011 Solano Exp’s founder Gabriela Tutalo traveled from Mexico and settled in Montclair on a path to study and improve her English in order to grow with her current corporate job at the time. The idea for Solano Exp, which she had since she was a child was eventually planted and seeded in Montclair, a diverse and cultural eclectic community known for it’s downtown full of exquisite restaurants, cafes and shops.
A community based location in a town known as the setting for where the suburbs meets the city, is a perfect place for Solano Exp. Solano Exp works with small communities of artisans from various regions of Mexico, and now these artisans get to exhibit their handmade products in the heart of Montclair, New Jersey.
Solano Exp brings a taste of Mexico to the Montclair community, exhibiting unique, one of kind products made from the heart and soul of Mexico. Its mission is to preserve the human touch in a world that is technologically advanced, especially in the world of fast fashion where mainstream fashion products are mass produced in inhumane factories.
Solano Exp’s goal is to support the artisans in small communities. Many of the families that create the beautiful products use techniques that were passed down from many generations and the traditions and skill sets are utilized today with multi-generational families. Also, the artisans are dependent on the protective and fair sales of their skills, which unfortunately go unrecognized, are taken advantage of, or are under priced in their home country.
Gabriela’s dream from when she was a child, visiting and witnessing how much the artisans struggled is to support the artisans by making sure they are being paid appropriately for their skills in order to take care of their families financially and to help educate and build their communities.
For those who visit Solano Exp and get a one of a kind piece, it becomes a precious gem, a story behind each product to share with others and a token of gratitude and support for the artisans of Mexico.
Experience a piece of Mexico
Express your unique individuality
Explore new horizons
This is Solanoexp
