ABOUT BIRD TROUBLE
Bird Trouble is a small but mighty leather goods brand… a grass-roots, artist built, American woman of color own, and ran small business. We are currently navigating a sustainable small scale production with a business to consumer model. Products are handmade by founder Alexz Sandoval in McHenry IL and two production teams that are based out of Chicago, IL and Ohio. We have many goals but two important ones: keep production in America and never skimp on high quality of work and customer service.
MATERIALS
The quality of our leathers are top-notch and have a low environmental impact since leather is a byproduct of the farm industry. A high quality made, well-loved leather product can last for many years and be pass down as heirlooms. We use USA harvested and tanned leathers as much as we can, to keep our footprint small. Did you know that vegetable tanned leathers are biodegradable, and we use that kind of leather for our unique hand dyed products? Vegetable tanned methods use tree bark and natural materials… no chemicals! Either way, it’s better to use animal skins and make a functional piece of art than to let them go to waste.
GROWTH
From 2016 to 2018, Bird Trouble had pop-up workshop in a West Town Chicago’s small boutique, AD HOC. That helped us gear up for our own rental space immensely.
In 2015, we had a 1978 Dodge Sportsman RV mobile Chicago pop up store that we took to a few Chicago handmade markets but boy, that RV was a money guzzler.
From 2018 to 2021, Bird Trouble had an official retail store / workshop / showroom in West Logan Square Chicago. We luckily survived and thrived in this space during a worldwide pandemic, but our values grew at the end of this adventure!
2022 to now, Bird Trouble is ran out of my home workshop, and sold mostly online but also at our exclusive Chicagoland small business retailers and through markets. As a small business, owning our workshop and focusing on online business and local collaboration allows us to find new customers and grow capital for our future journey.
ABOUT ALEXZ
I am a first generation American Mexican, a leather worker, an entrepreneur… and much more. Designing, creating, sharing, & carving a unique path has been major constants throughout my life. I feel an artisan drive & passion for strong work ethic in my blood that my parents & grandparents who emigrated to the USA from Mexico taught me. In fact, my grandpa sewed for a living so I’ve been around sewing machines my whole life. Resilience, adventure, and service runs strong in my family - it’s no wonder I love running Bird Trouble.
When I was a kid, my dream was to be an artist like Frida Kahlo. I studied Fashion Design in high school and found my passion for sewing and design. I actually started my first brand in high school so I could sell DIY punk rock inspired goods. In my 20s - I dropped out of my second year of college and I moved from my parent’s Chicagoland suburban home to Chicago, California, Pennsylvania, and Mexico. Road tripping from each place, meeting other creative people, and seeing this entire continent inspired a lot of my work. I was always wandering and traveling but I also was always working odd jobs. I found myself in customer service, retail, beauty, and eventually restaurant / hotel hospitality but I sewed at night and worked on growing Bird Trouble on the side. I never stopped dreaming of being a full-time entrepreneur.
