Arizona designer Jorge Diaz transforms cultural pride into economic success through his jewelry and fashion brand Lemon Design 25, tapping into the state's $65 billion Hispanic purchasing power while creating pieces that resonate deeply with the Latino community.
Whether he's crafting jewelry or sewing garments, Diaz's creations blend creativity with cultural representation. His work fills a gap he noticed in Arizona's marketplace.
"I wanted to make things that projected who I am, where I was, where I came from, and I realized that here in Arizona, the representation for the Latino community is very limited," Diaz said.
Diaz launched Lemon Design 25 during the pandemic, but after a few years, he felt unfulfilled and began specifically targeting the Latino community with his work. The response was overwhelming.
"I believe the first month after my rebrand is when I realized how much of an impact Lemon Design was making, and what the potential was I was able to connect to people that cried seeing my pieces and at the moment, it felt surreal, because nobody cries when looking at a ring, nobody cries when looking at a pair of earrings," Diaz said.
His success reflects a broader economic trend. According to the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic purchasing power accounts for $65 billion of the state's economy.
Dr. Monica Villalobos, president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, tracks this data through "DATOS," a yearly publication providing comprehensive research on Hispanic impact in Arizona's marketplace.
In Arizona, Latinos make up 30% of the population.
"For the last two decades, Hispanics have actually over-indexed and outpaced the forecast of spending power. And so that's a good sign, right? We're doing it faster and we're doing it better," Villalobos said.
The chamber works with corporate partners who use this research as the foundation for their marketing strategies.
"We have 106 corporate partners, and what we hear from them is that they utilize this as a tool and as the foundation of their marketing strategies to really understand the marketplace and how powerful it can be. It determines how they craft messages, how they develop products, and how they talk to their customers at the end of the day," Villalobos said.
This year's DATOS focuses on economic freedom and community prosperity, examining essential elements like housing, food security, and transportation.
"We have to think about things like housing. What does that mean? How does that become an asset? We have to think about food, right? What are we doing to keep our community healthy so that they can give back to the next generation? We have to think about things like transportation as well. So, all those elements of a healthy community create a healthy economy," Villalobos said.
Diaz embodies this entrepreneurial spirit, embracing his role as a business leader.
"It took me a lot of time to realize that I am the face, that I'm the soul, and that I'm the hands of a business, but I come to terms with it in a good way. I created this from within. So, I'm very proud to say I'm a business owner, I'm a CEO," Diaz said.
Most importantly, Diaz sees himself as a keeper of his culture, creating pieces that connect people to their heritage.
"A necklace that represented where they come from, or a bracelet that is as simple as a Ojito bracelet that every Latino kid had while growing up. It just evolved into, this is me. This is where I came from. These are my roots, and I want to share them with you. So that's how Lemon Design became the cultural shop that represents the people," Diaz said.
