I Knew Her When – Patricia Rodriguez – Sarape Sashes

I won’t soon forget the day I met Patricia Rodriguez, Owner of Sarape Sashes. She was searching for a Web and Graphic Designer in the Pomona area of Southern California and a common acquaintance introduced us. She walked into my tiny home office, about 15 years ago now, with several bags full of her product, her head barely peeking over them. She proudly showed me several brilliantly colored strips of unique material, each with delicate fringing at each end. She explained the fabric was called Sarape and the Sashes were for Latino graduating students in America.

My knowledge of the Mexican culture was limited. I had no idea what Sarape was, and wasn’t quite sure even, what a Sash was. I had a vague idea but I had no concept of just how much I would be learning about them both in the years to come. She struck me instantly as a person with limitless energy and an infectious positive attitude, a force to be reckoned with, I remember thinking. How right my first impressions were, Patricia has proven to me that hard work, persistence and a great outlook on life will overcome all obstacles.

In the beginning it all started with her product, I took it from there. I photographed her beautiful sashes and created the graphics needed for her first website. The initial Sarape Sashes website consisted of a one page presence and a direct link to PayPal. At that time Patricia had several color styles of sashes that I listed. We also were able to apply highly effective “Search Engine Optimization” to her site which attracted thousands of Latino and Hispanic graduating students that very first graduation season. That traffic has literally doubled every year since. I enthusiastically, and single-handedly built her first website and am proud to say I’ve been at the helm for every successful upgrade to her business website and graphic needs ever since. The Sarape Sashes website now involves a growing team of designers and programmers.

Patricia and I, from time to time, look back on those early days and laugh… “Member? I member!” I was so dedicated to helping Patricia with her goals that I actually named each sash – for example – the Black Sash I named Montenegro. She was very patient with me and let me experiment artistically but needless to say she eventually dropped the whole naming strategy, but… we never stop laughing about it!
Over the years I’ve come to see Patricia, a Harvard graduate herself, as the perfect combination of beauty, brains and courage. I have a few nicknames for her over the years, Queen of Sarape, or Luchadora, which means a fighter or wrestler, someone who struggles. Since the original Sarape Sashes website debut the site has been upgraded several times and now boasts a state of the art previewer and an e-commerce platform that is accommodating to any situation.

Patricia is completely committed to excellence and customer satisfaction and I have witnessed her dedication first hand. She takes the creation and delivery of each sash personally and it shows. She has a nearly perfect customer rating and that is hard to come by in such an industry as graduation apparel. Considering the thousands of graduation sashes she has already sold to ecstatic customers, she may very well be the Queen of Sarape indeed. As she travels back and forth from her family in Mexico where the gorgeous sarape sashes are woven on looms, to Pomona, California she continues to add new designs and ideas to the Sarape Sashes mix. The Sarape Sashes catalog has swelled over the years and each one is still unique and created with indigenous hands, designed of course, by the talented founder herself, Patricia Rodriguez.
Take it from someone who’s been there every step of the way like myself, and from someone who is proud that Patricia has named me a member of the Sarape Sashes family, this woman is a Winner and a never-say-die Champion. I’ve video tapped her Roller Derby matches and witnessed her take the hard hits and get back up with a smile of determination on her face, ready to go again. She never lets me down and always fills me with inspiration and excitement for the future.

Patricia combines solid family values with brilliant artistry and she comes up with magic every time. As her business, the original Sarape Sashes grows and grows with each passing year I stand back and marvel at her dedication and perseverance. I’ve told her from the beginning that she was bound for stardom and success… a millionaire someday! Patricia is the perfect example of Latino success in America. She is humble and modest yet so full of pride. She built Sarape Sashes from the trunk of her car into a nationwide concern. She gets rave reviews around the country from single customers and famous universities alike, and never forgets about the workers, the people in the communities, the students, and her family and friends.

In my business I meet plenty of eager entrepreneurs with big ideas and dreams. Most of them have failed but a few, like Patricia, have really soared like the proverbial eagle that she is. And under her wings are her family, friends and workers like me whose lives have been blessed because of her. I met a woman with a dream so many years ago and witnessed her successful rise with joy and wonderment. I am so proud to say that I am one of the luckiest web designers in the world. I know Patricia Rodriguez now… but more meaningful to me, I knew her when.

Article by

Eric Schmitz

Graphic Designer