Who is Mari?
Hello, I am Diamari Barrios but most people call me Mari. I am a 26 year old former preschool teacher and mother of one. I love baking, drawing, and spending time with my family.
I started working as a preschool teacher in 2017 but during the pandemic in 2020 my job closed for a year. In the beginning I didn’t know what to do, I felt my days were just passing by as my boyfriend went to work everyday and I didn’t have a car to go anywhere. I decided to start making treats for family members but soon they would tell coworkers, and they would tell their family and friends and next thing I knew I was selling my treats to so many people. In 2021 when my job had reopened I slowly stopped making my treats and just did it on special occasions.
In July of 2023 I gave birth to my daughter and decided to be a SAHM so that I could have the opportunity to watch my daughter grow up and wouldn’t have to miss out on any of her major milestones. In the early months of my daughters life she would sleep a lot and again I felt as days were just passing by, so I started drawing and creating on my Ipad. In all this time I had I was creating invitations, coloring books, and games for my daughters first birthday. I loved it so much that I started creating more invitations and posting them on Etsy as not just a hobby but to also have some extra cash.
With inflation and everything going up in pricing I started talking to my boyfriend about going back to work and putting my daughter in daycare. I was dreading the thought of being away from my daughter for so long each day. After throwing my daughter’s birthday party I decided that I really enjoyed preparing and planning and wanted to do this for a living. I was already doing treats and invitations so I invested in my self and bought a photo booth so that I had more party essentials to offer.
My treats, custom invitations and photo booth aren’t just about making money, but its also something I really enjoy. I enjoy designing party invitations and making them custom to each and every customer as well as making templates for my photo booth to go along with the theme of the party. I love putting all my love and creativity into my treats and it brings me such happiness to hear people talk about how delicious and beautiful they are. Yes this is an extra source of income to contribute to my family but its also something I love to do and I am so proud of it and I wouldn’t be doing what I loved the most if it wasn’t for all of you.
Thank you for supporting my small business and for taking the time to read this.