Chasing my dream
Hello, My name is Carmen. I run this online shop from my home office on my own. I research and develop all the items and either produce them myself or have a manufacturer make them. I illustrate all the designs and everything you see on my shop is a piece of myself that I'm sharing with the world.
If you're taking the time to read this, then I guess you want to know where this shop all started. I'm feeling very grateful today so I thought I'd share my journey with you :)
I have always been interested in art, ever since I started drawing sailormoon at a young age. I drifted through my younger years without realizing that art and illustration was what would make me happy even though it was right in front of me. I jumped from job to job and tried to build one profession after another profession but each time, I felt lost and always out of place.
In 2018, my father gifted me an ipad pro for Christmas. It was at this point that I started drawing a lot more than the colourless line art anime that I used to doodle when I had free time. I drew and drew and drew. Then in Nov. of 2019, something clicked for me. With this Ipad, I realized I could CREATE artwork digitally and print them out as merch (at the job i was working at) and possibly finally host at an artist table!
In early 2020, after going to the same convention for 7 years, I finally had my own artist table at Fan Expo Vancouver. It was an experience I'd never forget. I immediately signed up for more cons but due to covid, everything was cancelled or postponed. To make matters worse, I got laid off in the pandemic.
After 3 months of being laid off and with no end to covid in sight, I decided that if there was ever a time to start anything, it would be now. So I got myself a printer and a cricut machine and went for it. It only took me close to 10 years to finally start chasing this dream of mine but I'm finally here. So far, this is the hardest AND best choice that I've made. If you've read this far, just know that creating artwork and making others happy has become such an amazing part of my life. I never thought that my art would have that power. Doing this, I no longer wake up dreading another day at a job, working 130% to build someone else's dream. Right now, I'm chasing my own dream.
Thank you for any and all support you can give to my small shop :)
