It's been eight months since I released new products on my online shop. Back then, my designs were heavily influenced by my nomadic lifestyle in Hawaii and California between 2021 to 2022.
But now that I'm back in Los Angeles and have put down some roots, I've had more time to explore the cool surf towns in Southern California. I love strolling along the streets of places like Santa Monica and Venice, checking out local stores, and envisioning my products on the shelves of these small businesses. It sparked a ton of ideas for new products I wanted to add to my online shop.
MY DESIGN PROCESS ✨
1. The Golden Doodle Dog Shark Sticker
My Golden Doodle Dog Shark Sticker is inspired by my artist friend Maggie's (@littlepatterns) dog Willie. Last summer, Maggie took me on an amazing boat ride with her pup. Before we boarded the boat she put this cute little shark vest on him, and I couldn't get over how adorable he looked. That image stuck with me for a whole year, and when I was brainstorming ways to draw a golden doodle, I knew I had to make him into a shark.
2. The Los Angeles Palm Tree Tote Bag
My Los Angeles Palm Tree Tote Bag design originated from my #36daysoftype passion project. It's an annual online challenge for designers and artists to create unique interpretations of letters and numbers. This year, I completed my first series featuring characters shaped like palm trees. Here in LA, you can find palm trees LITERALLY everywhere, so this lettering style felt like the perfect fit.
My Ride the Wave Keychain design reflects my journey of overcoming depression and learning about self-compassion over the past year. After experiencing severe burnout from my job and working with my therapist for a whole year on self-compassion, I finally emerged from depression this July. This experience made me realize that life comes in waves - the good, the bad, and the ugly. No matter what, it's not going to last forever, so we might as well make the most out of the situation and ride the wave. This keychain means a lot to me, and I hope it resonates with some of you too.
BONUS 🙌
Here are two more cool facts about this collection:
1. My Los Angeles Palm Tree Tote Bags were screen-printed by a women-owned print shop in Downtown LA.
The shop is called Deluxe Screen Printing, and they're the first female-owned and operated screen printing shop in Los Angeles. The two founders, Elsie Acevedo and Liza D'Agostino, started printing from their garage in 2008, over 25 years ago!
2. I took my product photos at San Onofre State Beach.
Here's the inside scoop: this SoCal beach is as close as you can get to Hawaiian surf spots, with a long stretch of reef breaks and slow-peeling waves. It's seriously my favorite place to surf in California.
After months of sketching, designing, and refining, I'm thrilled to finally release this new collection. It's my favorite one to date, and I'm incredibly proud of each and every piece.
To check out all the products, visit my Summer 2023 Collection on my website.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. I appreciate your support! 💛
Cheers,
Chie
