10/22/24 Being an AAPI Creative Today (originally written in 2024, edited for the current time)
My tiny business is now 4 years old, as old as my oldest kid. Sometimes when I let myself go down a comparison trap, I can’t help but think I’m “late” to the game of starting a stationery business or creating art that illustrates Asian/Chinese food and culture. There are many incredible artists that have many cool designs and art - who am I among them?
I’m thinking about this as I recently purchased Giant Robot and Hi-Fructose magazine - two publications that feature so many AAPI artists and creatives and were such a big influence in my creative mind in my 20s. When I was in college, my intro into design started as I signed up to be the “graphic designer” for our Asian American Film Festival Committee - I had zero idea what a graphic designer does and no skills in any of the Adobe software, but taking this position forced me to learn and dive into this amazing world of graphic arts. Coming out of college, I looked to some of these magazines for ideas, but never actually focused my energy in creating things with Asian American culture in mind like I do now. (Instead, I took on various design projects for other people, some nutrition, some wedding-related).
There’s a part of me that thinks, gosh, if I started designing and printing things back in my 20s when all of this felt ripe + I was without kids + I had much more energy (though I also faced many moments of burnout), my business would look so much different now and I wouldn’t feel like I’m “late” to the game.
But, I am a big believer that everything pans out the way it does for a reason. I don’t think I would have created the products and things I do now with the same intent if I had done it in my 20s (I’m 38 now). One of my first cards that became popular and motivated me to design more cards with this theme in mind is my “Did You Eat Yet?” card. It’s not an original idea, by any means, but it is something that is important to me as I became more and more of an adult each passing year. My parents, my family, my husband’s family always check in first to see if I’ve eaten yet - our notion of love in the Asian world when saying “I love you” is an awkward statement. I try to design my cards with these experiences in mind, with the feelings I want to convey…all of it a different feeling now than if I had started selling cards and prints during my younger years.
All of this to say, there is space for me, for you, for anyone who wants to bring their ideas into the world. I like to call this the boba shop effect. When I was in high school, I noticed one, then two, then ten boba milk tea shops popping up everywhere in my neighborhood and beyond. I would hear people ask, how do these stores stay in business, especially when there are 4-5 other shops on the same street. Fast forward to now, these shops are doing better than ever, with better quality and more options. There was and still is room for more, and I would say, the same goes for all of us creatives. :)