In 2006
Jill & Ron Tomich moved their home & business into a small RV and drove to Mexico. The general idea was, if they could find both waves and wifi together in nearby proximity, they'd park and make a go of it.
During their years in Mexico
they mostly camped in Sayulita, a small beach town on the Nayarit coast, where they fell in love with Huichol art. The Huichol are an indigenous tribe who dwell mainly in the Sierra Madre mountains across the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. They are known for creating colorfully complex yarn and seed bead art that incorporates traditional symbols and designs dating back many centuries.
They noticed a few local beach dogs wearing strikingly colorful Huichol seed bead collars as they ran, wrestled and swam in the ocean, so they asked their friend Andres, a local Huichol artisan & shamen, to create a collar for their dog Mango that matched Jill's Huichol-created seed bead bracelet. The coordinated style Jill & Mango showed on beach walks began to earn envious comments from tourists wanting the same look.
SUPPORTING NATIVE COMMUNITIES
While a few Huichol artisans
have gained global renown for their original creations, many continue to struggle in trying to adapt their traditional way of life to the modern economy. So they talked with Andres about working with his community to promote and sell their beautiful creations online, and Boho Mango was born.
Giving back
Animal Protectors
We aim to donate some of our profits to animal protection organizations worldwide, starting with SayulitAnimals, a nonprofit located in Sayulita, Mexico. SayulitAnimals is dedicated to stemming the spread of homeless street animals by offering free sterilization clinics, fostering & adoption programs, and emergency veterinarian services. They have sterilized over 6000 animals in Sayulita and sponsored adoptions for hundreds more.
Finding Mango
How a skinny Michoacan street dog became the inspiration - and supermodel - for Boho Mango
It was Easter Eve morning
and they were sitting on plastic stools eating eggs & warm tortillas outside a neighborhood cafe on “Menudo Row” in Patzcuaro, a charming town of artists, craft markets and old plazas in the mountains of Michoacan that dates back to the year 1320. A street pup wandered up and rested her chin on Ron's lap, hoping to trade some puppy charm for a bite. Her thick black fur was mottled with dust on her thin frame, but her teeth were white, as were her paws, the tip of her long tail, and the endearing heart-shaped patch on her chest.
They shared some eggs & some puppy love
and as they got up to walk back to their camp the pup tentatively tagged along. In seconds - and with surprisingly few words - hearts melted and they agreed to invite this new friend into their lives.
After she arrived to Sayulita,
Mango soon became both the inspiration and model for Boho Mango.com. Fast forward a few months and she is now a blossoming pup and sometimes high energy supermodel diva, RV traveling the US and Mexico with Jill & Ron, happily showing off her colorful Huichol collar art at dog parks & main streets while giving chase to California squirrels, Colorado prairie dogs, Southwestern jack rabbits and Brooklyn pigeons. She'll hopefully keep her distance from the Florida gators.
