00:04
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I remember I. I remember I was part of this other cohort and through a grant award that I received. And I remember speaking, you know, to the grand. The. Yes. The person that. Grant. Grantee the grant. I’m the grantee. She.

00:24
Sara Ferrer
I guess.

00:25
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I don’t know. She had the money. So, like, I did not. I was like, thank you so much. I need that money. And. And. But she. But it was a wonderful program because she would periodically meet with everybody and give. She gave so many resources and. And. And, you know, was really detailed and. And just gave her time and be like, how’s it going? How has this grant helped you? How can I help you? You know, things like that. And I just remember, like, at the time, I was dealing with, like, you know, the logistic nightmare that was happening in Asia, bringing all the products over.

01:05
Sara Ferrer
And obviously for the podcast. Don’t talk too much about it. I’m fine.

01:08
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Okay.

01:09
Sara Ferrer
Okay. Okay.

01:09
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Well, I thought were going at it. I was like, let’s go.

01:13
Serena Reynolds
Do you know what?

01:13
Sara Ferrer
There is.

01:14
Serena Reynolds
There is something to this. This is a very natural conversation. Sara, we should discuss this.

01:19
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

01:20
Serena Reynolds
We could do, like, the intro and outro. Separate. We could. We can.

01:23
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Oh, you’re right.

01:25
Sara Ferrer
You’re right. You’re right. Because we’re always like, honey, the. Serena and Sara. Okay. Go, girl.

01:29
Serena Reynolds
Keep talking. Fearless and flawed. We are so flawed.

01:38
Sara Ferrer
Yes.

01:39
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So, no, I’ll make the story short because I can go on. I’m a Pisces, and I just like to elaborate and talk about, like, and, you know, what I was wearing and whatever. And she basically said to me, sandra, if you’re not breaking down once a week, then you’re not an entrepreneur. And I was like, oh, my God, I guess I made it.

01:56
Sara Ferrer
Yeah.

01:57
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, come back.

01:59
Serena Reynolds
Well done.

02:00
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

02:00
Sara Ferrer
I was like, okay.

02:03
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Nobody told me that. But, yeah. Oh, yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard. It’s probably one of the hardest things. I mean, I mean, Sara, you couldn’t totally attest to it, too, but I think it’s one of the hardest things that I’ve done other than giving birth. But. And raising children, because that’s really hard, too. But it’s just the. Putting yourself out there, you know, and constantly. And there was many days. I mean, there are days that I’m like, I do not want to do an Instagram post. I don’t want to write a stupid email. I don’t want to. And. But you have to constantly be, like, plugging and plugging because, you know, I mean, at the end of the day I believe in my. My product. I believe in my worth. I believe in my idea. But, you know, it’s.

02:55
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It’s a struggle to stay motivated. Those Monday motivational, like, noons that you get.

03:00
Sara Ferrer
Yes.

03:01
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Happy day.

03:02
Sara Ferrer
You’re like, I’m not happy.

03:06
Serena Reynolds
As an entrepreneur, you’re the only one you’re answerable to. To get up in the morning, to get out there to do it.

03:13
Sara Ferrer
You’ve been doing this just so I. I can give Serena some background, too, and just refer you. But you started this in 2020, right?

03:21
Sandra Portal-Andreu
We launched the product in 2020. Okay.

03:26
Sara Ferrer
Pre.

03:27
Serena Reynolds
Covid.

03:29
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No Covid.

03:30
Serena Reynolds
We got right in the middle of it.

03:32
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. Like, October. So were.

03:36
Serena Reynolds
Okay. So we’d already gone through a couple of shutdowns.

03:38
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. Yeah. And. But I had started the research for it in 2015, so I’ve been in it for, like, nine. I’ve been, you know, in the soup for nine years, so.

03:52
Sara Ferrer
Wow.

03:53
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. And shall we talk about what my product is? There’s.

04:00
Sara Ferrer
Yes, Sandra. Yeah, I could just. Literally, you could just. I could listen to you just talk about the weather for days. Like, I love just hearing you. Your. Your animations, your expressions, everything. And then I have to be reminded like, oh, yeah, let’s talk about Tappas.

04:18
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I could do the same about you, Sara. Okay, so.

04:23
Sara Ferrer
I’m just so happy Sandra’s joining. She’s. So tell me about Miami, girl. How’s the sun?

04:27
Sandra Portal-Andreu
How’s the food?

04:28
Sara Ferrer
How’s the croquettes? But I will stop myself for a second. How do we. Let me ask Serena. How. How do you want to maybe kind of, like, delve into this in terms of kind of the story and the evolution of Tappas? Do you want to do what we traditionally have done, or do you kind of want to veer off?

04:45
Serena Reynolds
I think we’re. We’re flying free here, girlfriend. Let’s just. Let’s just go straight in here.

04:52
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, let’s go straight in then. So here’s the thing, Sandra. Tell us. We know. We, of course, know about Tappas, but tell us a little bit about pre innovation, pre production. Like, you are, from my understanding, you’re a performance artist, you’re a theater gal, and then before even Tappas is launched, like, walk us through where you’re at.

05:15
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So, okay, so I have Tappas in my hand for those that are listening. This is a wooden ball, but it is a spherical container. So Tappas is a patented charcuterie sphere. Right. A serving sphere. It’s multileveled. It Spirals and turns to display your delicious bites with every turn. Our bowls are made out of all natural wood. This one is made out of bamboo. We also have rubber wood and beech wood. And yeah, I mean, I basically got inspired. I mean, as Sara had mentioned, I am, you know, I’ve been a performer, a professionally trained dancer, actor and choreographer and all that for many years. And so, you know, I sort of tapped in a little bit into the artistic side, but I also tapped into my cultural side. You know, I’m half Colombian, half Cuban.

06:22
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And this sort of inspiration happened really in the most natural of places, which was at my parents home. And there were always very. There were always, you know, entertainers, and they loved having people over. And I just remember my mom having a table and it just didn’t really look appetizing at all. She always liked to have a nice table. Before charcuterie tables were like a thing or whatever, but it was always these little snacks. And I just remember saying to her, I was like, my God, I wish it was like some sort of like, container or something that could hold different types of foods. And you can take it from one place to another, you can open it up, voila. And then now you have like this instant centerpiece, this instant serving, sort of functional work of art, right?

07:09
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And of course, my mom, you know, as I was a. When I was a child, I always used to come up with these crazy ideas. And so my mom would always tell me, stop inventing. Yeah, I mean, I get it a lot from my dad. My dad is kind of like that too. Me, my brother and my dad, we kind of. We do it this for fun. We like actually get around and we start like coming up with ideas and stuff to see like, what was like, what’s not out there. And then we’ll like, Google it and then, you know, oh, somebody. Okay. But I remember when I talked to my parents about it, I mean, I showed them a drawing and it was like, you know, stick figures and stuff. And they, you know, my dad instantly was like, this is really cool.

07:49
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And my mom was like, I would buy that. And I was like, okay. So, you know, the ball, if you will, started rolling in that. In that sense. And I’m really thankful that I had such a sort of deep rooted artistic practice in the community because I really kind of reached out to all of my artist friends and people, you know, that knew this one or that one, because there was obviously certain things that I definitely lacked. I never did industrial design. I didn’t know that kind of Engineering. I. I studied physics up the wahoo because that’s like, my master’s is in physics and stuff, but not physics per se, but movement sciences and movement analysis. So I was like, the balance is gonna work, guys. Because everybody said that it wasn’t gonna balance. And I was like, it’s gonna work. I know it.

08:43
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And, yeah, it was just, again, a series of conversations. And. And I think that’s what really, in essence, that’s like what Tappas is. Is kind of like a conversation starter. Like, oh, my God, what is this? Where’d you get it? Oh, let’s talk about this ball.

08:58
Serena Reynolds
And that is a really beautiful design. They really love the way it all kind of comes out. And if anyone’s listening and they haven’t looked at, they should look it up. See, look. So how did you get it engineered?

09:13
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Who.

09:14
Serena Reynolds
Who did you go to? How did this come around? Was it your sketches? Was it somebody else’s? Was it an idea that you had? How did it turn into what it is?

09:25
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So one, I did some sketches again on very elementary style sketches, but I was like, it’s a ball, but then it’s flat, and then it has these layers. And then in the. And then I actually went out and bought, like, foam balls, and I started cutting them up into layers and playing around with, okay, how many levels, how many, you know, layers can I have all this? And at first, my first prototype was this monster of a ball. It was like. And I got it 3D printed through a friend. And, you know, he looked at me, he was like, girl, this is, like, ginormous. This is, like the biggest I’ve ever seen.

10:16
Sara Ferrer
It was.

10:16
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I still have it, like, you know, tucked away. I was like, there’s my monster ball over there. And I realized, okay, this is way too big. Way too many, like, levels. I was like, no. So that project didn’t work. But again, being that I’m. I was already so used to working project based, you know, in a way where it’s like, okay, well, that didn’t work. Okay, so the next project, let’s figure out what the next thing will be. And so I met up with my brother’s friend who was an artist, and he was the one. Him and I literally came together, and were like, okay, it’s going to be smaller. It’s going to be, you know, four levels. I’m, like, counting because I’m like, oh, the top is the fourth, right? Four levels.

11:06
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And, you know, we’re going to make these sort of, like, interconnected Things that essentially became my prototype, which my youngest has on his desk for all his Legos and stuff, which it’s very good for that too.

11:25
Sara Ferrer
Market it, market it. Market, you know.

11:28
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, it is like. Yeah. So it wasn’t until, you know, he actually connected the. This a friend of mine, he was the one that then connected me to a manufacturer or an engineer. I’m sorry. And the engineer was like, if we’re gonna mass manufacture these, like this is obvious. I mean, it’s a beautiful design and everything like that, but it has to be, you know, re engineered for injecting injected molding or something. Right? Which at the time I was considering plastic. And once went through a couple of designs and tests and finally I had the final, you know, model, but I stay. I was like, I don’t know, like it’s, it, the tooling was going to cost so much.

12:26
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It was like a lot of like initial investment that I was like, my husband was looking at me, he was like, girl, I want to retire. So you’re not. No, I was like, okay. So it ended up being again, through conversations with people that I got connected with another person. And this guy, he saw it and he was like, you need to make this out of wood. And I was like, I would love to make this out of wood because I think it would just. Yes. It’s like, you know, I’m a tree hugger. Can we get like some cool, you know, fast growing wood? It’s like bamboo or, you know, something that’s, you know, that can, you know, essentially it could almost be compostable. Right at the end of the day. So it’s like you’re not putting more plastic into the ocean.

13:18
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And that was thing for me. So. And it ended up working out that for us to make the investment, it wasn’t going to be as substantial as doing the tooling for plastic. So I said, all right, let’s just go. You know, the only thing is that, yeah, I would raise the cost of the product a little bit more, but it made it more elegant, which I think is nice, was that process.

13:53
Sara Ferrer
So relationships, you’re talking to people. But it’s also a patented product, correct?

13:59
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, yeah.

13:59
Sara Ferrer
Whenever I hear patented, I’m like, oh girl, you’re a business woman. Like, you know, you always watch Shark Tank and there’s always one shark who’s like, is it patented? And they’re like, you’re like, oh, it’s not we’ll forget it, but so, like, so. So. So as never going through that process, what is that like? Like, is that. Is it easy? Is it difficult? Is it super financially burdensome? How do you patent a product?

14:23
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So, yeah, I mean, okay, so this is what I. I mean, I. I am a little fortunate because I have a lot of friends that are attorneys of different. Different practices and things like that. But again, it was all these connections and stuff, and. And some of them were like, actually, one friend of mine who is a patent attorney, he. He told me not to patent it. And I was like, why are you saying this to me? And he goes. He goes, just make them. Just make them, because, you know, somebody’s going to come around and they’re going to, like, you know, steal it. And I was like, yeah, but I don’t think this is, like, really good advice. And so I’m just going to put you on mute and we’re going to call it a day.

15:12
Sandra Portal-Andreu
But it kind of stuck with me because I was like, okay, if I get a patent, then it could be replicated, but if I don’t get a patent, it’s going to get replicated. So I was like, I mean, I feel like I needed that protection, right? And my husband’s an attorney, but not in any way, shape or form. Like, he has no idea. He looked at me, he was like, just, let’s have a conversation with somebody and let’s see how the process goes. So, thankfully, that little small version, right, was my prototype. And all I did was set up a meeting, and I showed up, and I remember I brought out this thing, and the guy looked at me and he goes, it’s a red ball. And I was like, yes, but. And then I.

16:01
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And then I like, spirit on it, and it swirled and opened around, and he was like, oh. He goes, my wife would like that. And I was like, you see? And I was like, and it’s supposed to come apart and this. And he looked at me and, you know, there’s two different ways to go. You can go the utility route, and then you can go the design route. Now, the utility route is a little bit more expensive. It will run you kind of around 8 to $9,000 with the application and everything. Okay. And. But this is for essentially designs, or how do I say it? Things that are. That are so intricate and different, that the function is different. Right. In some capacity. He told me the design patent is a little less. It’s. It’ll run you between 15 to 2000, 1500 to $2000.

17:07
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And he goes, you know, what you have right now is something that is design centric because there’s already things in the market that swirl, right, or swivel thing. He goes, but your thing is an actual sphere, whereas some people have done cylinders per se, right? Or like makeup, you know, kits that are like two level that just open like that, you know what I mean? Like those things have been around. He goes, your thing is just different because it’s a sphere and it’s multi leveled. So I go. He goes, in my opinion, you have more of a likelihood of passing and obtaining the patent through this route rather than the utility.

17:56
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Because the problem is that if you apply for the patent and then the attorney goes and presents their case and it has to go, it has to do a bunch of research, they got to make sure that this is like a very unique and different da, da, da. You could lose all that money if you lose, you know. So, yeah, I, it took about, I think I, I applied for it in 2018 and I didn’t get the approval until 2019. So it took about a year and a half.

18:34
Sara Ferrer
What’d you do when you got it? I feel like that’s like a big business win that people just are like, oh, like you. Did you like celebrate?

18:40
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No, I was cool. I was driving and I was on a stop and I was like, I looked at my message for a second and I was like, I just froze and I started crying. I started crying. I immediately called my husband, my dad. I was like. And then they were like, oh my God, that’s amazing. And I was like, yay. And then I go, but now what do I do? Like, what happens next? You know, then the next thing is like, okay, well what now?

19:11
Sara Ferrer
So, yeah, what do you do next? Yeah, I mean, question, what do you do next?

19:19
Sandra Portal-Andreu
What do you do next? Yeah, it’s. And were like, in a very interesting point because we hadn’t found the wood manufacturing yet or were still kind of exploring that and weren’t sure if that was going to work out. And so it, I was sort of like in limbo. I was like, well, I have the plastic version, but, you know, I was like, okay, we got this patent now, like, where, where is it going to lead us? And you know, and let us down the wooden path.

19:52
Sara Ferrer
So, like, what do you, so you, you get, okay, you have the patent. Because I always like to think things very chronologically. That’s like the stickler in me. I’m Like A, B, C, D. And this is why, you know, being around creatives, it always challenges me to be like, Serena’s always. Has always saying to me, like, you know, we could just kind of go with it. And I’m like, well, what’s.

20:11
Sandra Portal-Andreu
But like. Like.

20:12
Sara Ferrer
Like, there’s a timeline. Don’t be skipping over too much, because I’m going to have questions. But, like, you.

20:17
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You.

20:18
Sara Ferrer
You get the patent. You’re. You’re this business woman, you know, on paper, right? Where it’s like, you. You own a patent. Woo. All the. Where do you sell it? Like, how do you get it out there? Like, you have to have a website. You have to. Are you scared? Are you excited? Like, what’s going on?

20:34
Sandra Portal-Andreu
All of that. All of that. I was like, so, you know, I just remember there was nights where I was just like, I would like, look at this. This thing. And I was like, what are you. Where are you gonna take me? What are you doing to me? Like, what. Where are we going? Where are we going with this? And I just. Some. Sometimes, I mean, I. I’ll say this. The. The best thing that happened during that time is that I wasn’t in a rush. I wasn’t in a rush to like, make it happen, right? I was working. I had. My. My kids were very small, and. And I was just kind of, like, pacing myself.

21:15
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, it was like one of those things where it was like, okay, I got the patent this week, and then, you know, next week, I’ll focus on this and, you know, touch base with X and Y and Z and see what’s going on. And then, you know, we’ll just keep on following up as I went along. But it wasn’t something where I was like, okay, that’s it. Tomorrow we go. You know, that. That was kind of like a gift for me. And I have to cough, so you might.

21:44
Sara Ferrer
No, we know. We keep it Flawless. I flawed.

21:48
Sandra Portal-Andreu
We.

21:48
Sara Ferrer
Yeah. Forgot the name of the podcast for a second, Serena. Like, we’re. We’re. We’re perfect.

21:55
Serena Reynolds
We’re perfect.

21:56
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Oh, my God. So you want to know how Miami’s nothing on us. Miami. Miami’s contaminated now, girl. Everybody’s got the COVID or this crazy cough. It’s crazy.

22:06
Sara Ferrer
But you look fabulous. That’s all that matters. Okay?

22:09
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You can.

22:10
Sara Ferrer
But I’m so into this design and this patent. And I’m like, yes, Sandra, you go with your little red ball. That. It was like, girl, what is it? And you’re like, but look. And I love how you Even describe it. That’s so like, to me, the way you even describe it is like performance art. Like, but look, but tada. What? This, it’s very Vienna white.

22:28
Serena Reynolds
Have a bit of performance about it. The way it unravels and stuff. It is like a dance.

22:34
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It’s a pirouetting ball. It’s like my little dancing bola, you know. And then she’s like super cute. She can, like, she could just show one.

22:43
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, just a little toe middle.

22:47
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Aaron, if you want to just get the bottom. She could show her bottom and it stays. It’s, it’s like, you know, it’s super balanced. I’m, I’m, yeah, I’m proud of myself. I did that.

23:05
Sara Ferrer
But you did that.

23:07
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It was hard work and it was a lot of people, you know, that know, contributed to it. So, you know, I, I, I don’t think that we go into anything completely alone. You know, that’s one thing that I, you know, take into my, you know, artistic practice. Like, artistic work is always created in a crazy collaborative way. But I feel like the businesses that was one thing that I learned and I was like, oh my God, this is like, you know, just making like an artwork. Like it’s great, like a piece, you know.

23:44
Serena Reynolds
But where is Tappas today? Where, where are you with the business? Do you have a team? Where do you sell? Where can people buy? Let’s just get down to the basics here.

23:54
Sara Ferrer
Yes.

23:55
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So Tappas right now, Tappas has gone through many channels and many phases. Right now we’re sold still on Amazon, on Shopify, our main PAge and we’re also on Etsy. So we’ve downsized a little bit on all of our channels. I mean, and for the most part it’s pretty much been me. I’ve had interns and you know, volunteers and I still have my advisory board that comes in and helps out. Definitely. It’s very much family owned and run. So I tap into my family to help me out on certain things and you know what I’ve realized and this was actually something that I always sort of was always sort of like the option for me. Right. Which I’ll get back to. But through the years I realized I was like, okay, this is very rewarding work.

25:02
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, I’m getting to meet amazing people like Sara and you know, make these awesome connections to people that I otherwise would never have made. Right. So I do believe that this beautiful little magic ball has sort of taken me into another world. Right Pun intended. And, you know, but. But I did realize that, you know, the manufacturing side of things is something that I just. I’m like, wow, this is. This is a lot. And people that create their own work or products that are mass manufactured and. And all that and mass marketed and all. It’s. It’s. It’s like huge. It’s like a huge undertaking. I came into this as an experiment. Right. I’m gonna have to drink some water for a second. I’m sorry. You have to cut for a moment. Hold on.

26:03
Sara Ferrer
Parched. Got a story to tell.

26:05
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No, I can’t. My throat gets dry.

26:08
Sara Ferrer
Or it’s the Miami weather. It’s the air. It’s either or.

26:12
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It’s one of those things. I’m like, hot flashes. I’m kind of like, pre menopausal, too.

26:16
Sara Ferrer
Can we get a bed on Sandra? Can we get a fan? And I’m just kidding. Can we get a bed over here?

26:22
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No.

26:22
Sara Ferrer
Yeah.

26:22
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And so, like, what I need is major, honey. But. Okay, let me go back. So. So, yeah, I came into this as an experiment, right? I didn’t know what the market was going to, how it was going to react, how, you know, if people were going to like it, if people were even going to buy it. And they did, and there was a response, and that was, for me, more than enough. So about a year ago, I started shifting my focus and saying, okay, I’m not going to mass manufacture anymore, and I want to really focus on finding a potential licensing agreement with a company that has the power, the man power, woman power, too. And, you know, just all the facilities already in place. And I don’t want to.

27:26
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I don’t want to, like, celebrate too soon because, I mean, I did find an incredible partner. I came close twice. Two times I came really close, but the third time was a charm. And not to say that I didn’t send out information to a ton of people, y’all, because I did. I sent incredible amounts of emails. But out of all those emails, I got like two. And now this one third person. That was our third company that. That’s interested, and we did sign an agreement in July, and. But right now we’re in the sort of research phase on their end because they’re gonna try to, you know, streamline and tweak some things so that they can.

28:18
Serena Reynolds
You’re in the dating phase? The relationship.

28:20
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yes, we’re dating right now. So I. I could disclose, you know, who they are, but right now I. I can’t. And. But I’m really excited And I feel like that’s definitely the path that I always envisioned. Right. Is like, okay, I have this. But. And Sara, you. You probably can totally, like, relate to this. Like, I think. I think business. Being a business owner, like, really shows you what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. Right. And what is, like, your threshold, like, straight up, like, I can’t. This. Nope. You know, no, Puerto. We stay over here. Like, I can’t. And. And, you know, there was things throughout the process where I was like, I really don’t see myself doing this particular work forever. You know what I mean? And it.

29:23
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Those midnight calls, you know, overseas, and you’re, like, trying to talk to somebody and they don’t understand what you’re saying.

29:29
Serena Reynolds
You said very early on in the. In the interview, you. In the conversation that you. You were raised coming up with these ideas, so you must be itching for the next new shiny thing.

29:42
Sara Ferrer
I am.

29:44
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I. You know. You know, so I. This has rooted me a lot in a way to, like, again, really understand what my strengths are and what brings me joy. And art making, being in process, being in the studio, being with people, that brings me joy. Like, I love that. I, like, throwing, you know, shit on the wall. Excuse my friend. And what sticks. And, you know, designing Tappas in the beginning was like that. It was like, oh, yeah, you know, everybody’s bringing their voices, and I would show it, and they would be like, you know, and I would take notes, and I was like, oh, my God, this is great. And it was all part of the creative process, right? And as.

30:40
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Not just as an artist, but as an educator, because I have been an educator, you know, even throughout this time, you know, I was. I’m still like an adjunct. I teach my classes. It kind of gets me out of Tappas for a little bit and into the studio to get, like, you know, sweaty and, you know, let’s, like, create stuff. And I found that. That I was like, man, you know, this is really. This is really the space for me, right? And I. And I mean, I might have swayed a little bit, but I felt like I needed to kind of out of curiosity, to see and explore what this idea was and why people were reacting the way that they would when they would see it. And I was like, you know, there’s something here, so maybe I should explore it.

31:30
Sandra Portal-Andreu
They have, and I know that it’s going to start taking a different route for me, and that’s wonderful, I hope. And. But I think that with this new path, it’s going to give me back that opportunity to just kind of like, basically get back in the studio and keep on doing the work that I’m doing. I’m very community based. I love working with young people. And so, yeah, that’s probably where I’ll end up going. Who knows?

32:06
Sara Ferrer
Like, I always find it very interesting because you are such a creative. Right. Your world is like you said, you know, you’re out there. You’re. You’re. You’re doing it, you’re teaching your movement. All those things are so near and dear to you. And typically, like, business is like the other world, and usually you get like, you know, the business brain, and then they find like, the artistic, creative brain and those two people, you. But you are both of those. Both of those brains together.

32:39
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

32:40
Sara Ferrer
What I’m hearing, too, is like, you’ve dabbled in the quote unquote, business side.

32:45
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, yeah.

32:47
Sara Ferrer
Did it turn something on for you where you’re like, oh, like, I’ll take a little break maybe from it? Or was it. Was it more validating for like. Well, no, I dabbled in it, but, like, it doesn’t give me what I thought it would. Like, when you look back on the whole experience, right, what’s kind of your takeaways for, like, this is what I thought would be my Persona in this reality. What are some key takeaways? Looking back at, like, what, the last, basically 10 years since you started thinking about it, what, seven, six. Seven years since 2018, you said.

33:24
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So 2015.

33:25
Sara Ferrer
2015, yeah. So, like, what, the takeaways of your journey?

33:30
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Well, so a couple of things. One, when I first started with this, I totally felt like. I. I think now they call it, like, imposter symbol syndrome. But from. From my generation, we call it a poser. That’s what we used to say back in the. In the 90s. Oh, you’re a poser. And I remember this. This one man that, you know, he’s like some big Amazon guru and all that, and he was having, like, a meetup and. And, you know, he. When I showed him the thing, he was like. I was like, you know, I’m an artist. And he goes, but artists are entrepreneurs, Sandra. Artists are entrepreneurs. And I was like, oh, yeah, you’re. You’re so right. Like, I think about it. And at that point, I had, you know, produced a few works.

34:28
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So I had to deal with the logistics of people, rehearsal schedules, studio tech, rehearsals, payments, you know, creating the whole work. Ticket sales, you know, all those things. Press releases, audio meal, you know, all that stuff that I Didn’t think about it that way. I just thought, oh, you know, we just make art. We just make dances and, you know, people come and, you know, or whatever. Oh, that’s my dog. She’s actually having a nice dream right now. If you hear her in the background, she was like, anyway.

35:07
Sara Ferrer
So thinking about those ticket sales, she’s thinking, yeah. She’s like, yes, mom, ticket sales. You did it, girl. That’s your biggest. Yeah.

35:17
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And so I, I thought, okay, I could do this. And, and so if anything, I think that this experience has heightened my understanding and kind of like my outreach, if you will, to let artists know about their worth. Right. What they’re contributing is work and that their work needs to be supported. Right. So if anything, yeah, I mean, it made me into a more like, more business savvy artist in a way. Like, I still have been choreographing and creating different works. Like, right now I’m collaborating for a new work with these two musicians from New York that are coming down to Miami in November. And it was like again, sitting down with them, negotiating, telling them, hey, this is what I can do to you. This is what I bring to the table.

36:24
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, not just in terms of artistic talent, but logistical stuff too, that you don’t have to worry about and, you know, writing contracts, things like that. So I think it’s. Yeah, it’s just become an evolution for me to kind of look at basically art as, yes, an artistic, like an expression, but it’s also a means of compensation and work. You know, there is time in art making. And so we value time, we value energy, we value output. And so.

37:09
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, well said. Well, I think even when I phrase that question, like, you’re. I think you’re right. I think I, I’ve been kind of fed that message too, where it’s like artist or business person and that they kind of live separately. And so you kind of feed into this. But to your point, the artist is the entrepreneur. Here’s something I literally produce with my hands through my own thoughts. Now I have to market it. Maybe it’s at the, you know, at the, you know, the local fair or whether it’s at like the big swanky, you know, the Miami Art Gallery. But all those pieces of business are integral to the process.

37:50
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

37:50
Serena Reynolds
And it’s fearless. Really hard to put yourself out there with your art, with something that you’re passionate about, something that you love, putting it out there, you know, letting the world see you, what it really is, who you really are. It’s, it’s a brave move.

38:09
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Oh, thank you. And I think all artists and people, artists and entrepreneurs, I think that, you know, you know, they are fearless. I think in nature, I think, you know, we try to, what’s the word? I don’t know, we’re just curious. And that’s, to me, has always been the thing for me is that I’m a very curious person. I’m always kind of like, wow, I wonder how that’s made. I’m, you know, can I fix this? You know, and yeah, I just, again, I think that going back to what Sara had mentioned is that, you know, many artists are not trained to think of themselves as business people and that’s a huge detriment. I think that’s lacking in a.

39:11
Serena Reynolds
Lot of art syndrome, as you mentioned.

39:14
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And, and I, you know, I, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with some of my former students that have graduated, you know, with their BFAs and things like that. And I, and I tell them, you know, you are an artist, you are your best advocate, and you now need to go out there and, you know, be that person. You know, whether it be you auditioning or you actually creating something, you know, those are all part of these business sort of exchanges. But yeah, I think that, I think that, that those two worlds need to start coming a little closer together. Some artists might say, oh, but you know, it’s about the art. It’s about the. Yes, but we got to feed ourselves.

40:10
Sara Ferrer
And we got a little selling out idea. Is it a bit of like then.

40:14
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, there’s a little bit of that. But at the end of the day, like, you got to put food on the table. So I think that there could be a very healthy balance where you can create the art that you’re, that you want to make. But you have to be an advocate for yourself and you have to put yourself out there and you have to really know how to negotiate your worth.

40:40
Serena Reynolds
My son has just finished his degree in performing arts and dance.

40:47
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Okay.

40:47
Serena Reynolds
So he’s now going through this journey of having to sell himself. Unfortunately, I think he’s picked up some of his mum’s traits of imposter syndrome, and I’d sooner stand in the background and not be seen and stuff like that. And I keep trying to tell him that it’s exactly that. It’s a business transaction. You have to sell yourself, you have to put Your best foot forward. You have to believe in yourself. You’re not going to get spotted if you keep hiding. No one’s going to see you if you’re not out there.

41:18
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. And for dancers, I mean. Oh, that’s another. That’s another. That’s going to be another conversation for another day. But for dancers, it is. It is. It is hard because I think for. Again, I’m going to speak for myself. This is sort of my opinion and kind of like a little bit based on my sort of training and upbringing. Right. I, you know, and I’m older, so I’m like in my mid-40s. So things were way crazier then than they are now. Right. I think that things have totally changed for dancers particularly. But when I was growing up, it was like, you just. You did what you’re told. You, you know, you learn your choreography, you stand here, you don’t do that. And it was very much.

42:12
Serena Reynolds
Do you believe it’s changed?

42:14
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I think there’s. There is some element of it. And I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you why. I’ll tell you why. But, but growing up with that mentality, right. It took me until I was like, in my 30s to be like, wait, you know, or like late almost, you know. Yeah. Into my late 20s, into early 30s, where I was like, I have a voice. Why do I have to wait anymore to start making my own work? Like, when is the threshold? Right? And I think now there’s a lot of dancers that are coming out from the get that want to make their work and they want. They want to be seen. Social media has propelled that for a lot of people, I think, but there are still structures that are in place that really kind of sort of elevate these. These power positions.

43:23
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, I mean, we’re seeing it at.

43:25
Serena Reynolds
In.

43:25
Sandra Portal-Andreu
In. In this company in. In Dallas, Texas, Dallas Black Dance Theater. And it’s a bunch of dancers tried to unionize and they got fired.

43:42
Sara Ferrer
So, you know, it’s like riding that wave of, like, I mean, because you. We talked a lot again about kind of knowing your place, doing your. But at the same time, like, listen, I follow you on Instagram. I genuinely like you. And then. Oh, and she’s a business owner. So I saw you in Good Housekeeping. Saw you. I saw the. My top. You know, I saw on my topaz.com, you know, you kind of have your features. And then on Instagram, if you’re following your journey. So, like, you are out there, like, you have that. I think that it’s that artisanal story that makes the product so much more unique and a feature for a publication like Popsugar. So there is a little bit of like, maybe, you know, it has the appearance, it’s aesthetically beautiful, it’s functional.

44:28
Sara Ferrer
At the same time, like, you’re getting out there at the right places that want to feature that type of thing, that want to the artisan who also has a business. So in a strange way, it’s like that maybe now is much more forward facing with social media.

44:48
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, Yeah.

44:49
Sara Ferrer
I voted for you in those competitions where it’s like, vote for Tappas. I’m like, let me create five different emails for Sandra right now. But I’m curious. Performance world. I’ll do whatever I can to get you to number one girl.

45:04
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I voted for you too. I saw you on tv.

45:06
Sara Ferrer
You did?

45:08
Sandra Portal-Andreu
My family and my friend. I was like, everybody’s got him over her. Okay.

45:12
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, but it’s. I genuinely, I, I hear what you’re saying. Because I’m not from the dancing world, I can, I’m trying to understand kind of how it’s that kind of look pretty and just kind of, you know, fit. Fit what role? You’re supposed to do whatever choreography. But at the same time, with social media and with, you know, everyone now is like, well, what’s your story? What’s your story that becomes more personable when it’s, you know, Sandra in Miami versus, like, oh, it’s just like a huge conglomerate in China.

45:42
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Right.

45:43
Sara Ferrer
The right person that you’re targeting, they want to know that, like, oh, she also teaches X, Y and Z. So do you feel like it’s also not just your own ambition, but it’s also like the environment has fostered the ability to play both roles?

46:01
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, my family has been super supportive. They’re kind of like the ones that, you know, were cheering me on, but at the same time, it was like this cautious cheerleading right? Where it was like, okay, we’re going to take this step and then we’ll see what happens. Because that’s always like the thing, right? We’ll see what happens. I’m like, okay, so you, you. We would take the next step, and then we would take the next step. And so it was this thing. And my dad, you know, my. I come from, like, business owners. You know, my mom has her preschool that she’s had for 25 plus years. I, I think they’re almost like 30, actually, in two years they’ll be, you Know, my grandmother, my dad’s mother growing up was, you know, she had her own business as well.

46:57
Sandra Portal-Andreu
She would literally knock on doors selling water filters and bidets. These like little detachable bidets. I mean, it was super sexy. And you know, she, you know, so I grew up with this sense of like. And my dad, you know, he’s a consultant. He’s worked for a lot of startups, so he’s been part of like the building and the breaking down and build up and down. And so he’s seen it throughout. And you know, and my husband owns his own, you know, business as well. So, you know, I’m thankfully in a space where people are kind of giving me this advice. But I think what’s interesting is that they’re all approaching this in a new perspective because no one has ever sold a product before other than my grandmother.

47:55
Sara Ferrer
But she passed away a pioneer of like door to door selling. You’re, you know, run.

48:02
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. I mean, that’s odd.

48:04
Serena Reynolds
Lie. That’s.

48:05
Sara Ferrer
Yes.

48:06
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, like straight up like that. That’s how she did it. And I mean, you know, my dad has, you know, he understands products, stuff like that, but he’s more in the tech side, so it’s a little different. But the physical product space for home is really like a new world for everybody. And I think that, you know, we all kind of came into it like, all right, we’re going to try this out and we’re going to see where it takes us and we’re going to learn from it, you know, and I think we have, I think we’ve learned a lot of things. I think I now value the process of making the spoon.

48:47
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, right.

48:49
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, where did this spoon come from? Oh, my God. Everything that took to make this one spoon.

48:57
Sara Ferrer
Don’t get me started on salt shakers. I’m like, look at this design. The earth comics on this is insane.

49:04
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Exactly.

49:05
Sara Ferrer
And like, people around, they’re like, put down the salt shaker. We’re leaving this room. And I’m like.

49:10
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And I’m sure you get that too, Sara. You know, I mean, being in the beauty business and understanding, like, what it is to create this, you know, product now for children. I mean, it just kind of really opens a lot of doors into understanding a little what our world is made of.

49:28
Sara Ferrer
You have to be a little loopy, I think, in a good way. A little bit of like. Because curiosity is something that I think as we get older, you, we naturally Kind of. It becomes like, oh, curiosity is for kids. You know, now we’re older, we live in the real world, you know, we don’t have time. Curious. So I think you have to be kind of a little bit childish in that way. Right? You have to be a little bit imaginative, which I think to. To. To, you know, the average adult world can look a little zany, can be like, put down the salt shaker, and you’re like. But no, someone had to patent this. And I really appreciate. You kind of have to be a bit out there in your own head, you know, you have to be out there in the. In.

50:08
Sara Ferrer
In the world to actually take what’s in here and create something. But you have to own it, right? You have to own it.

50:16
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Totally. Totally. I mean. Yeah, because if you don’t believe in it, nobody else will.

50:21
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, it’s exactly. Someone believed in, like, the brown paper bag to put your lunch in. Now, my pet rock, like, they believed in it. It’s the story, right?

50:36
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I say it all the time to myself. I’m like, if my pet rock sold, Tappas can sell. Like, I would tell myself that all the time. If my pet rock made it, I can do it. You know? And you did. It’s like, a little bit, but you’re absolutely right. There’s a little bit of, like, you know. Yeah, yeah.

51:00
Serena Reynolds
But.

51:00
Sandra Portal-Andreu
But I think, you know, all in. I think all in stride, you know, because you do then hear about these stories of people that, you know, I. I. That they’ve invested so much. And. And. And I. I just. Again, it’s understanding what, you know, what your boundaries are. Right? Like, where. Where can I go? And what do I feel, like, comfortable yet? What is going to make me a little scared? But I’m interested, and I want to try. And then what is, like, okay, no, if I get to this point, that’s like, you know. So it’s understanding your boundaries, for sure.

51:40
Sara Ferrer
Totally. Serena, what was the. Our last interviewee? Interviewee. Yeah. Was Jackie. She was named Jackie, and she’s from Jack and Jewels, which is a line of kids jewelry. I shouldn’t say just kids. If she was here, she’d say. No. It’s kids, teens, and adults. Okay, fair.

51:58
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Everyone.

51:59
Sara Ferrer
We asked her a question to ask you.

52:02
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Okay.

52:03
Sara Ferrer
What was the question? Serena, I’m trying to.

52:05
Serena Reynolds
You remembered? Not me.

52:07
Sara Ferrer
Oh, it’s. Well, I remember her. I remember. If I remember correctly, I think it was like. It was such, like a. She was just like. I would ask them, like, how did you get here? And I’m. And then, like, after the fact, were like, that’s our whole podcast idea. What did you get here? Like, like, you want to be a little bit more sp. Like, we only realized that after the fact, we’re, like, gotten to that point by, like, minutes.

52:34
Serena Reynolds
See?

52:35
Sara Ferrer
So. So, Serena, do you. Do you have any. Any zany random questions to ask that a past interviewee would ask? And it could be thing. But is there anything out there that you want to throw on out in. In lieu of Jackie’s question?

52:56
Serena Reynolds
In lieu of the fact that we’ve asked the question Anyway, what’s your favorite salt shaker?

53:05
Sara Ferrer
I want to know.

53:07
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I don’t even have one. I think I just use the salt thing that had.

53:11
Sara Ferrer
Isn’t that.

53:13
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Actual dispenser?

53:15
Sara Ferrer
I was like, oh, it is.

53:16
Sandra Portal-Andreu
You know, it’s either the bowls or the. You know, I just like that.

53:21
Serena Reynolds
My question is. My question is, what would you say was the most fearless part of the whole journey for you? Where’s your fearlessness? I mean, obviously, it’s there. It’s everywhere. Okay, no, let’s reword that. Where’s. What was the biggest flaw? What was the hardest thing to overcome? Sorry, I’ve jumped all over the place. What was the hardest thing to overcome and helped you develop and learn something that you might not have thought you were going down.

53:59
Sara Ferrer
Like that? Serena. That’s juicy.

54:02
Serena Reynolds
That was a big thought there.

54:03
Sara Ferrer
I would just have asked what she puts in her Tappas bowl.

54:08
Serena Reynolds
On the website.

54:10
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Everything. I put my children inside.

54:16
Serena Reynolds
That’s the big one, right in all. Tea in the Tappas bowl.

54:22
Sara Ferrer
Exactly.

54:24
Sandra Portal-Andreu
To answer. Answer Sara’s question, you could put meats, you could put cheeses, you could put chips, you could put dips, you can put fruits, you could put nuts.

54:32
Sara Ferrer
You could put in there, though. Sandra, what do you. What does.

54:34
Serena Reynolds
Oh, no, hang on.

54:35
Sandra Portal-Andreu
We could also put everything in there, like, clean. Oh, it all comes apart. There you go. Go. That’s an easy question. So for those that are seeing or watching, it does come apart. Make sure I get using one hand. So it comes apart. And as you can see, it has, like, all the different layers, and it has a. It actually has, like a little knob on the bottom. So I. I kept it separate so I can be able to, like, put it apart. But all you do is you wash it with cold water and some soap and let it air dry. That’s it. And don’t put a.

55:18
Serena Reynolds
Beautiful design. Anyone that’s not watching, it’s really beautiful. You should look it up.

55:23
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Definitely And I have hobbies in Europe. I really wish I could do that.

55:28
Serena Reynolds
Well, I can see on Amazon. Oh, it’s on Amazon.

55:33
Sandra Portal-Andreu
On uk.

55:35
Serena Reynolds
Yes.

55:36
Sara Ferrer
What? I didn’t know that.

55:41
Serena Reynolds
I got very excited halfway through as I. As you said you sold it on Amazon. I had a little sneaky peek. And yes, I can buy them off Amazon.

55:49
Sara Ferrer
It makes.

55:49
Serena Reynolds
I think I’d sooner buy it from the US and get it shipped to over here, though.

55:53
Sandra Portal-Andreu
But.

55:53
Sara Ferrer
Right. Wait.

55:55
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And it says Tappas store the brand.

55:58
Serena Reynolds
Yeah. If not, I’d been jumping straight on that pattern for you.

56:05
Sandra Portal-Andreu
See, I’m telling you, Amazon, that’s another conversation. But there are no.

56:14
Sara Ferrer
Way back to Serena’s fearless. Her question. Yes.

56:18
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yes. Yeah.

56:19
Sara Ferrer
Okay.

56:20
Serena Reynolds
Everything she’s talked about has been fearless. I mean, from going to get the patents to finding a manufacturer to just in her mom’s table and criticizing it. I mean, that’s fearless.

56:37
Sara Ferrer
I think.

56:39
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So. I mean, there was a lot. I mean, there’s a lot of challenges, design wise. There was issues with certain things that I was very particular about. So those things were aesthetic stuff, logistics stuff. I can, I can’t even, like, I could go into a story about all that. I think the biggest thing that I’ve had to overcome, and I’m still trying to overcome, it’s an ongoing process, is within myself and is, I guess, the pressure of putting, you know, what? Oh, sorry. This thing. The pressure. The pressure of always being on the go, of never feeling like I’m. I’m not doing enough or that I could do more. Right. Those things for me are sort of like ongoing internal battles that I am always constantly working around because I, I really value rest.

58:01
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And I talk about resting, you know, but resting is hard for me. And I think I talk about it because I know it’s a. It’s a challenge for me, but I still try to give myself, even if it’s like 10 minutes a day to just lie down. But sometimes I’m like, yeah, but I really need to answer this email and I really need to, you know, do this and. But it’s an ongoing conversation that I have with myself that it’s like, okay, you know, like, I think you’re okay, Sandra. And people tell me, they’re like, girl, how you doing? How you doing? And sometimes I’m like, I don’t know. I just kind of. I guess I just do it. You know what I mean? And there’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful video that I saw the other day that they were talking about.

58:53
Sandra Portal-Andreu
It was called, like, it was like an African proverb. Proverb about finding love in doing what you do right. Like, finding love and joy in the act of doing right. So the guy said, you know, you could love your plant, but in order to love your plant, you need to love watering your plant. You need to love. You know, while. When I was talking about, like, before putting, like, milk on the leaves to clean the leaves and stuff like that, you need to love doing that in order to love the plant. And I was like, wow. Like, yeah. So maybe there’s a sense of, like, that I love the act of doing. But at times, the challenge for me is understanding the balance of, like, okay, you’re. You. You’ve done enough for today, and it is okay to take this time for yourself.

59:53
Serena Reynolds
I’d love to know some tips on how to overcome that.

59:57
Sara Ferrer
Yeah. Double click.

59:59
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. I don’t think. I mean, I don’t know if anybody overcomes that, but I just think that’s. I don’t know. I mean, I feel like we are in this mad rush all the time, and I think we need to place a little bit of value in rest, you know, And I have that conversation with my husband often because he’s very. Go, go, go.

01:00:23
Serena Reynolds
Me and Sara have had that conversation a number of times before between ourselves.

01:00:28
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

01:00:29
Serena Reynolds
Just not knowing when to stop, when to celebrate, when to pat yourself on the back, when to do any. Any of those things. We’re just all.

01:00:38
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I was.

01:00:38
Serena Reynolds
The next thing I need to do, need to jump forward, need to keep going, and just never knowing when to, like, take a breath and celebrate these little wins.

01:00:49
Sara Ferrer
So we never do. I mean, do you find that it’s almost like, you know, wanting dessert but then being always like, oh, well, I don’t want to eat the cookie now. If there’s something better out there. I always kind of liken that to the celebration. It’s like, well, this celebration isn’t big enough to celebrate. Let’s wait for the next celebration or the next spin. Right as the.

01:01:07
Serena Reynolds
No, I mean, that cookie.

01:01:09
Sara Ferrer
Well, I eat the cookie, too, but I’m a cookie. And the cake, that is more, you know, homemade. But it’s this idea that, like, sometimes is there. There’s a bit of depriving oneself of things that you would never deprive your friend, your husband, if they did something great, you’d be like, wow, let’s celebrate this. But when it’s our own doing, when it’s something that has been our own undertaking, there’s a bit and maybe it’s just me, but there’s a bit of like, oh, this isn’t worthy of eating the cookie over. You know, let’s wait until something bigger and better happens. And so what I have found is that to think that I’m going to correct that overnight or even in this lifetime might be unrealistic. But the first step is the awareness that I’m even doing that process.

01:01:55
Sara Ferrer
It’s just the awareness, like, okay, I’m doing that. And then to hear, you know, two other women that I admire saying, oh, I kind of feel that way too, or, yes, I definitely feel that way. It’s like, I thought it was just here and how it’s a little look, but like, yeah, too y. Pretty normal. You kind of lean in and you’re.

01:02:17
Serena Reynolds
Like, maybe we’re all just a little bit.

01:02:21
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Well, and I think that that’s something that I think generally, women, overall, 10, we’re conditioned. We can’t talk too much about ourselves. I mean, it’s literally like the Barbie movie monologue, right? Don’t be too, don’t dress too sexy. Don’t talk too much. Don’t, you know, all these things because it’s. It, you know, then you’re, you know, Luciano Day. How do you say that in English? Like, you’re like, you know, showing off.

01:02:55
Serena Reynolds
That’s why we’re doing this podcast. We are fearless and we are flawed.

01:03:03
Sara Ferrer
Sandra, what would you ask, as you have been through this journey, what would you ask the next person that we. That we chat with? What’s like, listen, make it your own. You’re an artist. It could, it could be something, you know, it doesn’t have to be business related. It could be. Yeah. What. What would you ask? I’m just curious to kind of keep the. That womanhood, you know? You know, ball moving forward.

01:03:28
Sandra Portal-Andreu
The ball. I’m going to pass the ball. And here you go. I would ask a couple. Good. I have a couple of questions.

01:03:43
Serena Reynolds
Write down this week.

01:03:45
Sara Ferrer
Yeah, let’s write it down. Because last week I was like, wait, go back to the. What exactly was the question? You know, we’re organized for the most part. But then every now and then it’s.

01:03:53
Serena Reynolds
Like, girl, did you get so excited about doing this?

01:03:56
Sara Ferrer
Oh, I black out during these. I have so much fun. And then I’m like, I need a nap.

01:03:59
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I’m.

01:04:00
Sara Ferrer
I’m over my sense. I’m over sensitized now. It’s true. I’ll be taking a.

01:04:08
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yes, it all. Take a little power nap. A little Lupe nap. Because Lupe is. Lupe is my dog. He’s just hang. I just. I want to come back as her. That’s a good question. If you could come back in your next life. Yep.

01:04:23
Sara Ferrer
What would it be?

01:04:25
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Love it right down. Be my. So that’s. That’s question number one. If you could. If you could come back in your next life or what would. In your next life, who would you be or what would you be? I would say in. If you could go back and do it all over again, what would you change?

01:04:52
Serena Reynolds
That’s a good question.

01:04:55
Sandra Portal-Andreu
I know. I love that. It’s yummy, right?

01:04:58
Sara Ferrer
It is yummy.

01:05:02
Sandra Portal-Andreu
What? Oh, here’s a good one.

01:05:06
Sara Ferrer
Okay, tell me more.

01:05:08
Sandra Portal-Andreu
What would you tell. Hold on, how do I phrase this? What would you tell? Or if. The 12 year old version. If you had a conversation with your 12 year old self, what are. What would you tell them? That’s.

01:05:31
Sara Ferrer
That’s good.

01:05:34
Sandra Portal-Andreu
That’s good.

01:05:35
Sara Ferrer
And I’m excited to ask that. Those are good.

01:05:39
Serena Reynolds
I’m so excited to ask that. I want to ask you, Sandra.

01:05:45
Sandra Portal-Andreu
What.

01:05:46
Serena Reynolds
Would you tell 12 year old Sandra?

01:05:49
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Hi. I would tell 12 year old Sandra. I would sit her down and I’ll be like, queen, nobody is going to understand you, so don’t even try. No one’s going to understand you. Don’t even try. And I was. And I would just say, keep dreaming because it’s going to take you places. Love it.

01:06:17
Sara Ferrer
Love it too, girl. This is. I say this all the time to Serena off camera. I’m not sure if I’ve said it on camera. We need to have an alcoholic beverage or mock. Or mocktail, but it’s some type of fancy drink at the end to Cheers. Because we do this on Fridays and there’s like that statement. You just made a bit of me as I just want to go and run up and down the street and shout that out. You get that feeling. And since I’m not going to do that because I respect my husband and don’t want him to be embarrassed, a sip of something delicious. So next time, Serena. Oh, well, okay. Well. Water. Yeah, exactly. That. That’s like the perfect bow on top. It’s like us and it’s true and it’s honest and it’s real and it’s so relatable.

01:07:16
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, yeah, it’s. It’s, you know, I, I’m having more and more. It’s very, it’s very surreal. Okay. Because I have two boys, right. And I’m seeing I’m like, they’re literally like morphing into these men, you know. Oh, my 15 is my oldest and my 11 year old will be 12 now in November. So I have a 15 and 11 year old. So my 15 year old literally transformed like last year and about a year.

01:07:57
Serena Reynolds
And a half ago, right, I had a moment once. I’ve got. My son is 22.

01:08:02
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Oh.

01:08:03
Serena Reynolds
But I remember about 15, about 14, 15. I was down the other end of the garden and I looked into my kitchen and I thought, who is that man at my fridge? It was like, it was a real moment of he’s not my boy anymore. He’s grown, he’s big. Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just empathizing. Just.

01:08:25
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No, no. So it, you know, and, and so I’m seeing them transform. I’m looking at my 11 year old and he’s still with his little baby face and he just started sixth grade. And I’m looking at my husband and I’m like, that’s it, like it’s. The time is ticking. His little person is going to like, you know, come out, right? But then I was looking at myself and.

01:08:51
Sara Ferrer
Right.

01:08:52
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Looking at myself.

01:08:53
Sara Ferrer
Dang.

01:08:54
Sandra Portal-Andreu
And I thought, oh my God. You know, like this face that we stare at every day, right? How we’re like growing, you know, every day, every day. And I was like, man, I wish I could see my little 12 year old face, you know, and just be like, Mary, you’re so cute. Who cares what anybody says? Sure, you have buck teeth now. Don’t worry about it.

01:09:20
Sara Ferrer
You’ve got braces, you don’t have any bulbs.

01:09:22
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Don’t worry, they’re gonna come when you’re 40. Like, you know, I know.

01:09:31
Serena Reynolds
Saying youth is wasted on the young. You just don’t appreciate it when you’re there. All of those things.

01:09:36
Sandra Portal-Andreu
No, no, no. That’s why my nieces, they think I’m a loca. They, they love me, but they’re skeptical, scared of me because I look at them and I’m like, ladies, you gotta get yourself.

01:09:49
Serena Reynolds
That was the whole Z thing. That was what it was.

01:09:52
Sara Ferrer
Yes.

01:09:53
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. My nieces, my goddaughters, like, I got Zoey Koko for everybody, but were the crazy.

01:10:02
Sara Ferrer
I mean, that was our position there where it’s like the Zoey Koko idea was like, we’re just the crazy Fanati who’s like, girl, you’re seven, life is getting a little weird. You know, you’re kind of figuring out what’s going on. But like, in the meantime you’ll keep your cute, Have a good time, smell like cotton candy, and keep it moving.

01:10:20
Serena Reynolds
Be a unicorn.

01:10:22
Sara Ferrer
Be a unicorn. Who cares, right? I think it’s kind of that idea where it’s that awkward phase. And I can imagine with social media now, you actually never leave that awkward phase because, like, you know, beginning very young, it’s like, nothing’s right about me. And then it’s like, no, everything’s right about you. It’s. Everything’s wrong.

01:10:39
Serena Reynolds
Daughter can’t even look at her phone without going right, you know? Oh, you have.

01:10:44
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Do you have a daughter? I do.

01:10:46
Serena Reynolds
I do. She’s 17.

01:10:47
Sandra Portal-Andreu
She’s.

01:10:48
Sara Ferrer
Yeah.

01:10:50
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So she’s in it. Yeah. Yeah.

01:10:52
Serena Reynolds
She’s really in it.

01:10:58
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah. It’s. It’s. I think it’s a. It’s an interesting time for. For young women and men, you know, because as much as I have my boys and there is this sense of. It’s a different type of upraising, but I’m still having those conversations with them of like, dude, you know, everybody’s freaking out. Like, yesterday, my son, he started middle school, he’s like, mom, I’m kind of nervous. I go, everybody’s gonna be.

01:11:32
Sara Ferrer
Yep.

01:11:33
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Remember that? Everybody is like, you know, even though they’re acting all hard and talking, you know, whatever. Which he’s the king of. Okay? So. But he. You know, his little emotional side. So I wrote him a nice little letter, you know, telling him how weird and wonderful and strange middle school was going to be, but that, you know, we love him and that we want him to just be him, authentically him, and not have to apologize or explain or whatever to anybody. Well, except for the teacher. He should not, you know, the teacher do not disrespect.

01:12:11
Sara Ferrer
But then he takes it too much, and he’s like, my mom told me I am who I am.

01:12:15
Sandra Portal-Andreu
So I’m gonna.

01:12:16
Serena Reynolds
I’m not even gonna lie. I actually tell my daughter to. If the teacher’s wrong, tell them you’re an independent, strong woman.

01:12:24
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

01:12:25
Serena Reynolds
You don’t need to have authority.

01:12:27
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah.

01:12:28
Serena Reynolds
Maybe I’m wrong.

01:12:30
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Well, you know, the good with the.

01:12:32
Serena Reynolds
Bad, there’s a balance. Yeah.

01:12:33
Sandra Portal-Andreu
She’s in the balance. My dad is literally here. That’s his. That’s his phrase the whole time. Life is a balance, Sandra. It’s a balance.

01:12:45
Sara Ferrer
I love that I could. I just want to hear you impersonating your dad for the next three days. That broke me, Jan, again. Fake fake cocktail mocktail. I’d be cheersing and guzzling up water this has been awesome. Is there anything that we’ve missed?

01:13:03
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Serena?

01:13:03
Sara Ferrer
I mean, this has been such a great conversation. Just like I said, I always kind of know. Or Serena and I kind of always read a little background if we don’t know the guest personally. But, like, this was so refreshing, Sandra. And it’s. I think it’s because it’s so authentically you. Sometimes, you know, people will say, like, I don’t know anywhere any way, any other way to be. But to be on the receiving end of it and to be able to see it and be part of it and witness it and engage with it is a real treat. In all honesty. It’s like, wow, I got to be part of something really cool. So thank you.

01:13:36
Serena Reynolds
No, thank you so much for joining.

01:13:39
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, thank you for.

01:13:40
Serena Reynolds
Because we did this all upside down and back to front and we never introduced you. Would you like to introduce yourself? How people can find you where people can buy the Tappas?

01:13:50
Sandra Portal-Andreu
Yeah, absolutely. So my name is Sandra Portal Andrew. I’m the creator and founder of Tappas. It’s the all natural patented charcuterie sphere. You can find our product@my Tappas.com M Y T A P P. Not only am I a mother, but I’m also an interdisciplinary artist and a choreographer and inventor, so. And I’m based here in Miami. Cuban, Colombian parents. That’s it.