Sandra Lucia Diaz

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Design for a living: How Sandra Diaz’s creative vision found a partner in American Express

Illustrator Sandra Diaz tells us that her stationery work began with an act of cultural representation.

“My cousin, Jasmina, was graduating,” she recalls. “She is Afro-Latina, and I couldn’t find a single card with a beautiful afro on it. I decided I was just going to make one myself.”

Diaz says that the response to her design, which featured the right hairstyles alongside bright waves of Cuban and Salvadorean flags, led to a flood of requests for personalized cards. In addition to honoring her cousin, she felt that she had identified a gap in the market for graduation cards that celebrated Latino heritage. She had also discovered her passion.

“I want to make sure Latinos feel seen,” she says. “Growing up, I never really saw a lot of us represented in the media, in movies, in magazines – or in the cards we give each other to mark occasions. Latinos really need to see themselves celebrated.”

From artist to entrepreneur

Diaz’s DC-based “Latina stationery brand,” Lucia Diaz LLC, was founded in 2020. The affiliated online shop Fearless Yaya soon followed, as did illustrations for Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Carolina Herrera, Saks Fifth Avenue New York, and Estee Lauder. Diaz explained that her illustrations are all deeply rooted in Lucia’s Colombian heritage and her identity as a first-generation American. Today, Diaz explains that she creates designs that reflect the rich diversity within the Latino community, emphasizing varied body types, skin tones, and hair textures – a tribute, she says, to the encouragement she felt growing up in Miami.

“Lucía is actually my grandmother’s name,” she explains. “I named my business for her because she was the first to purchase a commissioned piece. She always told me, ‘Keep going. Sell your work. Never give it away for free.’”

After graduating from Florida’s Ringling College of Art and Design in 2009, Diaz told us that she first pursued a career as an art director, with sporadic design gigs on the side. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her freelance earnings reached six figures, surpassing her other income. She explained how she scaled up her operation, streamlined her processes for coloring and crafting templates, and moved to dedicate herself entirely to her business.

“It was a rough year, and I’d been laid off,” she remembers. “Thanks to my new business, my husband and I were able to get back on our feet.”

Embracing American Express for business growth

Diaz told us that securing a Business Credit Card was a crucial step in her business’ creation as she felt it offered her additional financial stability and resources for business expansion. For Diaz, she believed that this strategic decision opened new avenues for growth and personal fulfillment.

“American Express has been there for me from the start,” she says. “In 2020, it was really the first credit card that I used to buy my printer, buy my ink.” Diaz shared that the American Express Blue Business^® Plus Card was a great tool for her business. In time, she applied for more Cards to suit her specific needs – such as an American Express^® Business Gold Card. With the Membership Rewards^® points that she earned from her spend on the Card, Diaz transferred points to travel partners for trips to Colombia to meet manufacturers and help with distribution costs.

Better banking for the brand

In addition to the Cards, Diaz tells us that opening a business bank account was another calculated move. “It’s just so simple to use,” says Diaz of her American Express^® Business Checking account, which she applied for and started using in 2023. Diaz shared, “The user experience is beautiful, and I found it so easy to follow. Looking through transactions feels super- simple.”

Additional features, such as round-the-clock customer support, have further eased Diaz’s banking experience, affording her the freedom to ask questions as they arise. “I’ve called in so many times to talk to the small business servicing team.” This is how she learned about, for instance, her Business Checking account’s integration capabilities with select external accounting software, for more efficient bookkeeping and financial management.

For a routine traveler like Diaz, earning Membership Rewards^® points and redeeming and transferring them to select travel partners is a great benefit. “I saw online that I had enough points to book a flight, redeemed them, transferred them, and booked my flight.”

Sketching a Business Blueprint for her cash flow

More recently, Diaz says that she has become an avid user of another product she discovered via American Express’s small business servicing team. “I had been entering cash flow statements into a spreadsheet and was wishing there was something easier,” she recalls. “Then, I found it.”

“The biggest thing for me,” Diaz says, “is seeing my linked accounts in one place and not having to log into two different accounts, not having to look at four different dashboards for various bank accounts and cards I have.”

“By centralizing my accounts, I can view month-to-month how much money comes in and flows out of my linked accounts,” she adds. “Having it all right there in a single spot has helped improve my efficiency.”

For Diaz, she said that Business Blueprint helps her better understand her finances with custom viewing of the personalized cash flow insights featured on the dashboard. She told us that alerts about expenses and account balance projections enable her to predict upcoming financial needs, providing a buffer for possible gaps. The platform has also introduced her to other American Express products built to bolster small businesses.

Diaz recalled that Business Blueprint offered another solution through its expense feature and said that it gave her a deeper view of where her money was going. Now she says that she can better manage overhead costs in certain areas without compromising the quality of her products and services.

“With Business Blueprint, I can see my expenses broken down, like ‘electronics’ or ‘merchandise.’ I have a more holistic picture of what I’m spending and where I need to cut back or consolidate.”

“I honestly feel Business Blueprint has given me a bird’s-eye view of my business, so I can get back to work and not get stuck in a spreadsheet.”

Diaz tells us that her future holds ambitious plans. She said that she aims to expand her business into the wholesale market and wants to continue serving the Latino community. Her mentors, all powerful Latina women, have been a source of inspiration and guidance. She explained that her commitment to her community remains central to her strategy. Moving forward, she tells us that she hopes to maintain her authenticity through targeted photo shoots for her catalog and to continue her partnerships with major brands.

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