Meet Lina Cristancho | Co-Founder, Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lina Cristancho and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lina, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk has been essential to opening our showroom/flagship store. Opening this showroom was actually a quarantine project for my husband Louis and I. Last august, not only were we in the midst of a global pandemic, but being in NYC, We were working everyday through the protests and watching the brick and mortar stores around us get destroyed. There were so many reasons we could’ve given ourselves to take a step back and put our dreams on hold, but we knew the reward would only come if we took these risks.

Previously, we were working completely through wholesale, but together we decided we needed to address our direct to customer business through a traditional brick and mortar store. Although all of the businesses around us were closing down, we knew we had something special and that we would make it work. After months of creating a space of our dreams we decided to open in August of 2020. Since then we have been growing more organically than ever before, and our showroom gave us the legitimacy that our business needed. We knew the difficulties we would face during this process, however we firmly believe that the biggest risk is the one not taken.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What we believe sets Stivali apart from the rest is that we truly have a passion for what we do. We are in love with our brand and the people behind it. We are so proud of our in-house processes, our craftsmen, and the fact that we are a family owned brand. Getting to this point however was not easy. Louis and I came to New York with $100 in our pockets, working different part time jobs to finance our dreams. We had to be resilient, always taking risks , and stepping out our of our comfort zones to really push ourselves. In this industry it is easy to get overlooked and face constant rejection – but one yes is worth 99 no’s if it means opening a door for opportunity.

Stivali New York is a brand that represents heritage, inspired by European design and pre-Spanish history we hand craft each and every shoe with purpose. The Guarin family have been shoemakers since 1998, using 100% cattle skin leather, which is a by-product of the food industry, we create quality shoes that tell a story and because of that we are able to deliver a truly unique experience for our clients.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in New York City, so there are tons of amazing options to choose from. However every local always has their favorites. Williamsburg in general is a gorgeous area, with such an easy going vibe it is hard not to fall in love with everything it has to offer. Some of our favorite places to eat in the area have to be Patrizia’s, they are our neighbors here and we’re constantly helping us while we were preparing our storefront, and we can always count on them for a nice glass of sangria at the end of a hard day. Some other of our local favorites have to be Aurora for their romantic ambiance, Miss Favela for live music and dancing , and definitely Gran Torino for a casual happy hour with friends.

And although this isn’t in Williamsburg, Central Park has been a favorite of ours for years simply because of the gorgeous greenery, the magical lookouts, and all of the secret spots you can find along the way.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Gratitude and appreciation are two of our core values. With that being said, we were selected out of over 200 businesses around the globe to partake in the Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT) Designer Entrepreneur Program, Surrounded by amazing designers and Outstanding mentors, we were granted the opportunity of a lifetime. We are extremely grateful for this as we were given the knowledge that helped us bring our business to where it is today. We would also like to show our gratitude to Coterie and MICAM trade shows for giving us advice on how to showcase our brand, and the Artisans and Women Heads at our Atelier who have been working in out Atelier for decades hand crafting our dreams to reality. We also would not be here without the help of the Guarin Family, our amazing team members Alessandra and Isabella, but most importantly the amazing community we have built here in Williamsburg who give us never-ending support.

Website: https://stivalinewyork.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stivaliny/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stivaliny