Telabeja is a wordplay of my own devising. It is a compound word from the Spanish word for fabric “tela” and bee “abeja”. So to speak, the English term “sewing bee” translated to Spanish. As a half-Mexican with a German sense of humor Telabeja seemed fitting as my individual business name! The “j” in Telabeja is pronounced similar to the “h” in “ham”.

Tied to my Mexican background, I decided to give my patterns and fabric designs Aztec names to raise awareness for indigenous ethnicities. Modern Nahuatl (Aztec) is an actively spoken language of various Nahua ethnic groups in Mexico.