Born and raised in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, a city filled with history, art and culture, Maria Elena moved to Calgary in 2004. As a graphic designer she has been doing consulting work for several small businesses, however her passion for the arts became the main focus when she co-founded Endeavor Arts with her husband in 2010 and curated over 20 art exhibitions.

Since then she has continued to foster even a more vibrant Calgary maker community through Canadian Maker Foundation, co-founded Calgary Mini Maker Faire and MakeFashion, a fashion technology show in 2012.

With these previous projects, she turned Endeavor Arts into a makerspace and wearables lab called ARCHEloft in 2014, closing that space in the summer of 2017.

Early 2018, along with her partners at MakeFashion and WearLabs she launched StitchKit.io A fashion tech kit accessible to everyone from fashion and costume designers to cosplayers, to enthusiasts and educators.