She is 20 years old, she stopped designing bikinis to make chinstraps and cook for deprived neighborhoods

Iara Szlazer (twenty) He is an architecture student and has always been passionate about design. While still in college, she decided to create her own brand of bikinis. “I started this venture 5 years ago manufacturing clothing. Shortly after, and seeing the results, my friends suggested that I launch a line of exclusive swimwear designs and in this way @MarkBikinis was born ”.

Everything was going very well until the pandemic was declared by Covid-19. Moved by the world situation and especially what could happen in Argentina, she looked for a way to contribute her little grain of sand. “It occurred to me to change in response to the need and the lack of masks. And so collaborate with the message so that people do not run out of medical supplies. I designed masks working with a material that is not disposable and also has the quality of being quick to wash and dry, such as lycra ”.

Iara not only gave up her venture and made masks, she also decided to donate the profits to an NGO. “Seeing how to help and show solidarity with people in the face of this situation, I began to sell the masks with the idea of ​​allocating the proceeds to the most vulnerable people. What little I keep is to be able to buy the fabrics and continue manufacturing. For the donation to have a good end I linked up with the people of Convidarte31, an NGO that is in charge of assembling food and distributing for those most in need. And I decided to join his campaign and actively collaborate by cooking food and donating supplies. ”

Every day, the young woman is in charge of the production of chinstraps, and also cooks an hour a day to prepare the NGO meals. Makes noodles, polenta, vegetables, chicken, whatever you have on hand. “I cook around 40 meats every week. Doing this really helps me realize how grateful I am to have a roof, a plate of food, and hot water. ”, recognize.

The entrepreneur when she knew how to reinvent herself in the pandemic. “Changes are not easy for anyone. Being in such a complicated situation I looked for ways to adapt my business to the priority needs that we have to go through today. I was always lucky and I was able to dedicate myself to what I liked. And now I am grateful to the opportunity that life gave me, that in addition to doing what I love, I am helping others ”

The production process was not easy. “We had to pass several tests until we reached the mold that most convinced us. It helped me a lot to listen to my grandmother – an older person who I miss horrors in the quarantine and is in the risk group – complain that the common cotton masks made her itch and the elastic bothered her ears. I always went to listen to the clients and I relied on their comments to see what could be improving. So I can say that I made them so that they look good on my grandmother ”.

Her grandmother is called Sara and she is 90 years old. “My bond with her is very special, we talk every day. In one of those calls, chatting with her, she commented that her chins were very uncomfortable. “That worried her a lot, she confesses. It was for that phrase that she decided to find a solution to the problem. Sara is” an angel “for Iara, so The young woman describes her, gives her advice, helps her feel safe and also transmits peace.

Nothing was as easy as it seems, everything took a lot of sacrifice and effort. “At the beginning we didn’t have a great variety, but after seeing the impact they caused and the comments we received, we were able to make various types of chinstraps of different patterns and colors “Szlazer says.

The young woman says that as customers were buying from her, she ordered to produce. Today, after seeing the results they had, they always have stock available. Szlazer says she makes sales every day and is very proud to have acted quickly in a crisis situation. In his family they always told him “where the crisis is, the opportunity”. Now he was able to put that oriental saying into practice and he went ahead.