Zuleyma “Zuly” Gomez

CREO was born from a memory, but really, it was born from something much deeper in me: love. A love for my roots, my culture, my family, and the generations of Creators who came before me.

I grew up surrounded by women who created.

I can still remember my grandmother teaching me how to knit, showing me the same cruce puntada she used to make blankets. We would sit together, knitting side by side. She taught me that creating was not something you simply did. It was something you passed down.

My mother carried that same spirit.

She was a Creator long before I ever had the word for it. When she was young, she won year after year at our town’s Día del Niño festival for her creativity. She could take an idea from her imagination and turn it into something people could see. Years later, when we spent a year in Mexico, she won first place again.

Looking back at those photos now, I realize I was surrounded by creativity before I even understood what it meant.

I was a Creator, too.

When I returned to the United States, I brought pieces of Mexico into my classroom, sharing our traditions, our art, and the things we create. I was proud to share where I came from.

That stayed with me.

So did watching my mother create. After long hours of work, she would sit at her easel and paint flowers, memories, and moments that moved her. Painting was her expression. It was her flow.

I remember one art showcase where her paintings hung on a wall for strangers to see. What I remember just as clearly were the price tags. She had to guess what her work was worth.

But to me, those paintings held something much deeper than a price. They held her story. Her memories. Her imagination. The way she saw the world.

And I began to think about how many Creators, like my mother and grandmother before her, carry generations of talent, imagination, and knowledge within them, yet may not have the tools, resources, or business knowledge to know what comes next.

That is where CREO began to take shape.

CREO is more than a marketplace. It is infrastructure for Creators. A place where they can share their work and their stories, connect with people who value what they create, and give their creations a life beyond themselves.

I come from a small town in Jalisco, where craftsmanship is part of everyday life. What I inherited from my family was more than a love for making things. I inherited a way of seeing the world.

A way of creating.

A way of carrying stories forward.

A way of believing that what we make can become part of something bigger than ourselves.

That is the legacy I carry.

And that is what I want CREO to carry into the world.

Zuly