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Change Zaira Gonzalez's Life

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Zaira needs to move to a new country
We are creating this campaign on behalf of our sister Zaira Gonzalez who needs your help to move her design studio and factory to a new country given the difficult economic situation in Venezuela. 

Zaira is a successful industrial and commercial designer who has made a name for herself in Venezuela creating handmade artisanal lamps and silver jewelry. For more than 20 years,  her lamp artisanal factory, Degres Lamps, located near a tropical forest and close to the beaches of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, has been a source of delight for the tourists who visit the area, and has caught the attention of high-end developers who install her beautiful lamps at malls, hotels, and residences.  

Here is Zaira at her artisanal factory with some of her lamps and collaborators:



Here Zaira is teaching a class on artisanal jewelry:



Because Venezuela is undergoing a terrible financial crisis, last year Zaira had to let go all her workers -some had been with her for 15 years.  One by one, the stores which distributed her lamps are closing. The tourists who used to come to the beautiful area and who bought her designs no longer visit. Exporting is also difficult because of governmental regulations and tariffs.  The financial crisis in Venezuela also makes almost impossible for her to sell her artisanal factory or her modest house. With the rampant inflation, her savings disappeared.

With the help of her sisters
Zaira is my sister. My name is Iris Stammberger. I live in the Greater Boston area. I am creating this campaign to help Zaira launch her business someplace else - a place where she will have a better quality of life. Here is a picture of Zaira and her sisters, from left to right, Iris, Adriana, Zaira and Tahiz:



We have seen Zaira persist in her desire to be an artist since we were teenagers. Zaira, after finishing her education in Industrial Design at the Polytechnic Institute of Design, in Milan, Italy, went back to Venezuela and started exploring multiple artistic venues until creating her workshop and company from where she designs, creates and commercializes handmade 950 sterling silver jewelry, mosaics, and unique artisanal ceramic lamps. She also has developed a curriculum to teach artisanal ceramics and wax-based silversmithing and teaches at Taller de la Tierra, an art school in Caracas, Venezuela.

Her  unique blend of talents as an entrepreneur, a ceramist and, a silversmith resulted in a successful studio, artisanal factory, a source of tourist income for the region, and a place of education and work for other local artisans. This is the experience she wants to recreate in a new place.

Launching an E-commerce site for Zaira
To support her, and with the help of her niece, Iriana Rodriguez, we have created an online store that will make easier for Zaira to sell her work in the future.  Check it our here: https://www.zairagonzalezdesigns.com/about-zaira

Here is Zaira with her niece Iriana, taking pictures for the new e-commerce site:




How can you help?
To launch Zaira's artisanal lamp factory and jewelry workshop into production we estimate a budget of   $ 20000 US. Our goal is to raise half of it in the next six months so she can move and begin the process of installing a new studio.  All the money will go to buy equipment, new ovens, rent a working space,  train and hire workers, and as cash-flow for the first few months. The money will also cover marketing cost to find local stores which will sell her designs. For her personal expenses, she will continue having the support of her sisters and family until she establishes herself in a new place where she can live, work, and prosper while contributing to the community that welcomes her. 

Besides offering financial support, you can also support Zaira in other ways:

1. By sharing this link in social media and through email: https://www.gofundme.com/change-zaira-gonzalez-life  

2. By visiting her website and sharing the link in social media: https://www.zairagonzalezdesigns.com/about-zaira

3.  By putting her in contact with governmental and non-profit organizations in your community which may be interested in  inviting her to train others as she has trained artisanal ceramists and jewelers in the various aspect of transforming their creative talents into designs and objects that have commercial success. Contact us and we will share with you newspaper articles detailing her entrepreneurial, artistic and artisanal quest and documenting her ability to train others.

How the funds will be used
Your donations will help Zaira open a new studio, buy new ovens and materials for her ceramics, train and hire workers, and start her life at a new place. She has already applied for a visa to live and work in the US but she is also considering moving to Argentina where she has family and friends. Her plan is to bring all the designs with her and replicate her studio somewhere else generating jobs and prosperity for herself and others. 

Any amount, small or large will help her towards her goal. Please contribute and help change her life. Thanks!

Fundraising team (6)

Iris Stammberger
Organizer
Raised $110 from 2 donations
Winchester, MA
Adriana Gonzalez
Team member
Raised $100 from 1 donation
Al Koury
Team member
Sergio Gonzalez
Team member
Yohami Zerpa
Team member

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