Young South Floridian launches online art platform Cuadritos de Felicidad (includes video story)

Valentina Santana, a South Florida resident and college student, created an Instagram account called Cuadritos de Felicidad to promote and sell her art. Santana came up with the idea at the beginning of the pandemic quarantine and her brand took off.

“Cuadritos de Felicidad has been a great activity for Valentina because she has learned how to organize herself, have the ability to talk to her audience, and do business with people she doesn’t know,” said Monika Crespo, Santana’s mother. “It’s a fascinating hobby for her as it allows her to create art.”

The turning point came when Santana gifted a pair of decorated shoes to Univision TV presenters Rafael Araneda and Ana Patricia Gamez. Both promoted Santana’s custom shoes on Instagram, so she earned more commissions than she expected.

Santana’s prices vary according to the medium, complexity of the design, and cost of shipping or delivery. The customer must purchase the shoes or clothes and ship them to Santana so that she can decorate them.

Santana said she has done about 100 sales for shoes and canvases. These include her first ones, which gave her the idea to create the brand.

Isabella Espinosa, 21, plans to graduate from Florida International University with a bachelor’s degree in digital communications and media in August 2021. Then she plans to move to Austin, Texas to immerse herself in the digital advertising field and later get a master’s degree in advertising at the University of Texas at Austin.