Meet Hannah Quijada | Designer & Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Quijada and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, do you have a budget? How do you make lifestyle and spending decisions?
I love this question because it’s an integral part of all of our lives yet it’s a sticky topic. If we don’t manage our finances properly it can be the difference between a stress free lifestyle (at least where money is concerned) and a lifetime of debt. As far as our family’s personal finances go, we live a debt free lifestyle but we didn’t always do this. We’ve learned from some hard lessons of how to successfully manage our finances so that we can set our children up for a healthy financial future (at least the wisdom to do better) and for a beautiful retirement life. This takes discipline and creating new habits. I truly never believed that having a budget would create financial freedom.

Once you have this financial freedom, decision about money change. It’s been an interesting shift from “We can’t afford to spend another $100 in groceries because it will put us in the negative” to “While we can easily afford this amazing trip for our son, is it something that is appropriate at this time in his life?” The question of “can we afford this?” changes to “is this the best decision at this time?”. It’s quite the shift. To clarify, financial freedom doesn’t mean that one is wealthy nor rich. That is a common misconception. We simply choose to live without debt by making calculated risks, utilizing a budget, and living below our means. This is what creates financial freedom and I highly recommend it!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I’m most proud of when it comes to Made for you by Hannah Q (M4U) is that I offer bespoke apparel. This is something that is not offered anywhere else.

Usually people have to purchase an item then take it to get altered. Whereas, I build the garment according to the client’s measurements from the ground up. The client assists with select any changes they want to make to sleeves, lengths, necklines, and more if they choose. Then, they select the fabric, leaving dozens of options for a single garment. This also ensures that everything I make is size inclusive which is the most important to me.

I took a two year mental health break and when I returned, it was incredibly warming to see how many past clients welcomed me back and shared in that excitement. I can’t say enough about this, it’s been very moving.

I’m working on honing my skills to create couture garments and I have an full vision of what that looks like, but this is all I will say for now. I have been fascinated with couture since I was a child but I didn’t know it was actually couture until I was an adult. hahaha I think this is what I’m most excited about for the long term. There’s beauty in the skill and quality of couture and I would be honored to make a few of those garments a year for clients.

While I can’t really say if my journey to M4U has been hard nor easy, it’s just —been. I can see the craft building in my life at different points starting from childhood. When I was 8 or so, I took sewing lessons but I quit because the girls were too snobbish and it was all hand sewing. Then again when my grandmother taught me a few things on the machine and those experiences have always stayed with me. Sewing feels very reminiscent of my time with my grandmother. I remember when I purchased my first sewing machine as an adult and I sent a photo to my dad saying how I remembered grandmom. I think we both may have teared up a bit, at least I did. I later got a treadle machine (foot powered like in the early 1900’s back through 1700’s) and dad and I both stared at her for a moment, remembering grandmom sewing on a similar machine.

But before I bought a sewing machine as an adult, I rep’d for several apparel companies. One fueled my passion for measured-to-fit concept and bra’s. This is heavily seen in my plans for M4U. The other company we purchased their garments at (high) wholesale cost then resold them to customers. It’s quite the popular model and is still a thriving MLM, to my knowledge at least. Those two MLM’s provided me with a strong foundation to create M4U. I did have a stint in buying wholesale and reselling with Joyce, my bestie. I remember always being disappointed in the sizing options. They’re terrible! That is when I started to make more size inclusive garments and it wasn’t long until I began making bespoke apparel.

As you can see, Made for you by Hannah Q, has literally been a life-long journey and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Honestly, I think we’d end up going on a cruise! We both work so hard and we have kids. Enough said. lol So when we go on vacation, we want to relax, explore and thoroughly enjoy. We’d take a 7-day cruise and do all of the excursions we possibly could.

But, if that was not possible at all. I’d show her around to some cool places here in the general Houston area.

Downtown near the Marquis, there are tunnels that run underground and lead to different restaurants and shops. That’s just so cool! Usually there is an event happening at Memorial Park, so we’d definitely check that out.

I’d take her to some of my favorite restaurants like Grimaldi’s and The Original Marini’s Empanada House,


Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I honestly could not be where I am without the constant support of my husband Waldo and my boys Alex & Adam. They’ve been incredibly patient and supportive over the years while I spend countless hours deep in my business learning, creating and growing.

My bestie, Joyce, has been a sounding board for ideas and helping me to stay on track. She’s the Ritalin to my A.D.D. I have a few customers who’ve been with me from the beginning and they are huge cheerleaders and their candid feedback has been a critical part of product development. I’ve also found the community in Houston to be phenomenal supporters of local shops and fellow entrepreneurs are equally supportive. This has really been a surprising experience to see so many business owners truly supportive and there for each other.

Website: www.madeforyoubyhannahq.com

Instagram: madeforyoubyhannahq

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m4uhannahq

Image Credits
Laura Mundhal w/ Lauraphotographymn Daserae w/ momentsbymamabear Photographer: Dana w/ @HeidelbergerPhotographyLLC Chloe w/ Saplings & Sprouts