Sophomore Aria Ramirez regularly spends her weekends at farmers’ markets, helping run her family’s growing homemade goods business. The Freckled Moon, which was founded by Aria’s mother, Marie Ramirez, was created as part of an effort to branch out with her homemade products.

The Freckled Moon sells things such as dream catchers, crystals, and necklaces at local farmers’ markets and online.

For most of the business’ time span, Marie ran the business with Aria’s older sister, Raven Ramirez.

“Me and my mom started doing this over a year ago, with only a few products and not too many sales, and have slowly grown over time,” Raven said.

Because of the business’ expansion and Raven’s new full time job schedule, Aria has been helping out with the business more to assist her mother.

“My little sister Aria has kind of been a stand-in for me, because of my job schedule, and has helped my mom almost every weekend,” Raven said.

Marie is grateful for her younger daughter’s support.

“I didn’t have any help and Aria really stepped up to the plate and has been helping me every since,” Marie said. “She comes every Saturday with me and it’s not easy work. She really, really does a great job.”

Aria’s recent decision to step in for her sister has had a positive impact on her, as she is able to spend time with her mom while also gaining experience with customer interactions.

“[Talking to customers] is actually really nerve racking, because you see people you don’t normally see and you have to talk to them, so it’s like a new experience talking to them,” Aria said.

Aria’s mom has always admired her daughter’s ability to exude a friendly persona to customers.

“She’s always been a very good kid, she’s never given me any problems, she’s always been polite and sweet,” Marie said. “She always had that knack for talking to people and being a good customer service representative.”

Marie says she is excited to have the opportunity to witness her daughter grow into a responsible teenager and watch her learn to respectfully treat customers, as well as apply what she learns to her everyday people skills.

“I’ve seen her become more of a responsible teenager. She’s definitely become more respectful of others, she wants to learn the ins and outs of the business. She’s also grown artistically and creatively. She wants to do a lot of things on her own and make things herself,” Marie said.

Marie also has hopes of expanding her business in the future and turning it into a larger brand, which may eventually come to feature some of Aria’s artwork. They plan on attending more events to promote their brand and gain the exposure they need to grow their business.

According to family friend and customer Adrianna Owens, the Ramirez family has always shown an interest in crafting and have always been business-savvy.

“Ever since I’ve known them, they’ve been very entrepreneurial,” Owens said. “They’ve all got so much talent, from drawing to creating unique pieces of decor, to figuring out what it takes to start a successful business.”

Owens can see business expansion as a possible future option for the Ramirez family and believes they have the skills necessary to turn their business into a well-known establishment.

“I think they most definitely will try to expand their business in the future,” Owens said. “They have what it takes to make it big and become a household name.”