Made in NC: Pintamar

By: Mikyla Williams

The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a time of great loss for many people. With the pandemic causing an increase in layoffs and business closures, more than four million Americans tapped into their entrepreneurial side and started their own businesses.

UNC alumna Marina Fela-Castillo was a part of that group as she used this time to turn what started as a side job into a fully functioning business: Pintamar.

Pintamar is a Latinx woman-owned business that sells vinyl stickers, handmade earrings and keychains, hand-painted mugs and tote bags and aloe plant pots.

While it was officially established in June 2020, the idea of Pintamar came to life in October 2019 in Craige Residence Hall when Fela-Castillo was hand-painting mugs and shot glasses for her friends to make some extra money. When students were sent home from campus the following semester due to COVID, Fela-Castillo had to move back home with her family and briefly stopped taking commissions.

Similar to millions across the world, the beginning stages of the quarantine brought a wave of sadness to Fela-Castillo’s life.

“When COVID first hit, my life hit a wall,” Fela-Castillo said. “It was a very stagnant point and I just got into this really sad bubble. So, I turned to art, which is what Pintamar is centered around, to find comfort in that loneliness.”

Even though making Pintamar an official business was a sporadic decision, the idea of Pintamar wasn’t a complete shock to Fela-Castillo. Her creative pocket that inspires her work at Pintamar has been a stress outlet for her in different times throughout her life.

As she searched for comfort and peace amongst the chaos of the pandemic, Fela-Castillo began experimenting with polymer clay and paint. She noticed this became a time of the day she looked forward to and gave her the joy she was looking for.

Fast-forward to over a year later and Pintamar has gone from selling hand-cut vinyl stickers, custom mugs and custom shot glasses to selling handmade polymer clay earrings, hand-painted tote bags and hand-painted plant pots.

“It all happened so quickly, but it’s because I know my heart is 100% in it,” Fela-Castillo said. “Everything that I create at Pintamar comes from my soul and my heart.”

Fela-Castillo is slowly incorporating her love for painting into Pintamar more and will soon be offering hand-painted canvas art.

Anyone looking to purchase products from Pintamar can find everything in stock here. If you are looking to support Pintamar in person, Fela-Castillo keeps an updated list of events and markets where Pintamar will be on her website.