Conversations with Cera Marquez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cera Marquez.

Cera, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I will never forget the moment when I was sixteen driving through Colorado on a family road trip, there and then was when I knew that someday I would call Denver my home. It hasn’t been too long ago since I packed up my car and drove from the West Coast where I was born and raised to the Midwest but, all that has happened since feels like it could be a lifetime.

With my arrival to the Centennial state in 2019, I had no real game plan, with a resume that covered almost eight years of experience in the fashion industry from catalogs, photoshoots, client relationships, marketing, inventory tracking, fabricating, sourcing materials, designing, pattern making, regional trade shows, and all that lies there and in between left me knowing at least that I was on the hunt for my fashion niche. Shortly after moving here I connected with a local shop where I met and paired up with a gal who not long after meeting became my business partner. Navigating through all the normal daily ins and outs of running a brick and mortar women’s boutique, our store and the world was struck with devastation in 2020 leaving us all to wonder at one point if our doors would ever re-open. That same year my dad who was battling cancer, passed away. Me and my partner of five years split up. I lost my dog. My best friend. Things were feeling difficult to say the least. I went outside to get some fresh air one day to clear my head and while out on a hiking trail I found an ole’ dried up crusty beetle that for whatever reason I felt the urge to take home with me that day. That is when and where I taught myself how to re-hydrate, relax, and pin the deceased little guy to a resuscitated, life-like state. It was in the beginning of 2021 that I began to take what initially had become a passionate hobby and started to pursue it as a serious solo brand and business.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I had finally found my fashion niche in a new city and state. Building a community and empowering other women to lead their own paths. The doors were always open and when times got tough that is when I got innovative. It really felt like everything I had always wanted, hoped for, and I was determined to make it work. But, you know what they say; all good things must come to an end. The cozy and cute little boutique that had become such a huge part of my life even when everything else around me was failing, closed its doors unexpectedly and permanently at the end of last year.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At CC Oddities by Cera I create art using road kill and other fallen angel babies to honor the sacrifices animals and nature have made for humans to do the things they love to do; the ‘simple things’ we do daily in life are made possible thanks to the animals and nature that share their home with us. It’s just me, my hands, and anything I can find or work with to create decor for people who collect oddities, curiosities, bones, antiques, and magic. Animals and other natural resources are always ethically acquired, found or sourced. I decided to launch my website in 2021 on August 23rd, one year after his death in honor of my father. I strive to make tools readily available for ritual and spiritual practices, and meditation with a gentle reminder of our universal experience with grief.

What matters most to you? Why?
Normalizing grief and making sadness something we are not ashamed of as human beings. When one door closes, another one opens. We often have to let go of one thing to make room for something else, but that doesn’t mean that the process is always pleasant. When it comes to losing a loved one we don’t always know what to do or how to act, and that is OK. It is important to me that space is created to express these feelings openly and allow these emotions to flow freely through us however feels natural to each individual which sometimes can be difficult to connect to considering the conditioning we have experienced collectively through generations.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopccodditiesbycera.com
• Instagram: ccodditiesbycera
• Facebook: facebook.com/ccodditiesbycera

Image Credits
Chris Reif