1. What kind of environment did you come up in, and what kind of environment do you like to make for yourself today?
I grew up in the city and so I lived busy/independent at an early age, where I walked home from school or took public transit alone and my mom also always had us running around and occupying us with everything you can think of, especially music classes.
My sister and I grew up being raised with a mom who loved the arts but never had the chance to participate in it (other than drawing on anything she sees), so she invested everything her and my dad had into our creative endeavors. My mom is the definition of what people now will label as whimsy but my sister and I always called her the quirkiest person in the world. I grew up watching anime dubbed in mandarin, Detective Conan, Doraemon, Crayon Shin-Chan, Pokémon, you name it because of her. My mom also always made sure to read us “bedtime stories from around the world” and did funny voices and constantly made her own variations when we got bored as well as remind us of the world of wonder. She took us to the library as much as we could and that’s how I was introduced to manga. So although I grew up in a semi-strict Asian household I had a mom who was incredibly independent and free spirited regardless of the critiques around her. I have realized that it is what makes me who I am today, I try to encapsulate a lot of that environment into my life now. Including learning deeply about things you love and respecting and understanding what I don't know, I truly believe my curiosity for everything in this world is thanks to her.
Also following my mom’s advice of “move with the water”. She truly taught me that anything can be possible if I made it possible, even cutting up a sprite bottle to make a little extension for the bathtub for my little sister’s baby bath. (My first hater and fan jk take this out)...
2. What kind of stuff were you into when you were around thirteen? Any advice for thirteen-year-olds today?
When I was 13, I was in the 8th grade, a vice president of the school to break my stage fright. I loved my teachers, I loved writing (and getting slapped with 90% grammatical error) and making creative games and school projects (I created an animation for my 8th grade project using stop motion and paper, so many more hobbies I wish I archived) and many more. TBH I can’t remember lol. But I will never forget my classmate saying, “You're always doing too much Norna” and I loved it.
But around that time I was applying to high school and just starting to step out of my comfort zone, I was starting to discover life outside of what everyone around me liked, acted, or wore (PS .... Tumblr... was good but so bad iykyk).
I have always loved shoujo manga, reading, drawing, and writing. As an 8 year old I used to run to the Borders Bookstore secretly and buy up the mangas that were heavily discounted due to being bought out and lied to my mom that I just left the school late. As a 13 year old now looking back I had lost a lot of who I was becoming at the age of 8. I believe that being a pre-teen was the first of the “loss of innocence”.
Because when you're 13 you become the sheep in a flock or the black sheep that stands out.
Kids today have the power of discovery on the internet on their side even more so than before but the internet moves so fast today it’s hard to see who you are and what you like when with one blink you’ve forgotten what you saw and moved on to the next.
My advice for teens, 13 or younger/older is to slow down, try it out, and DISCOVER, and BE CURIOUS. Because that is how innovation is created, asking yourself what if this can do this, has this, etc.? Ask questions, things are created but it is not meant to be stagnant, keep going even if you feel a loss or that it’s been perfected by another.
3. What's your stance on magic?
This is an interesting prompt, since I grew up with folklore, fairytales and legends but also had a religious mom. I believe that there is something out there, I believe that there's a higher power, whether it’s one god or the whole celestial kingdom. But I think that magic is something you feel when you feel exhilarated, when you experience an emotion or thought you can’t fully explain, magic is an otherworldly expression to the unknown of life.
4. What is your favorite sticker you’ve made so far, and what inspired it?
“Your thoughts are a weapon!”. I was having a bad day and just reflecting on my thoughts and realized, wow, I sometimes really create my own sadness and there’s some sort of comfort I tend to find in it. I thought to myself , and went “Wow I’m really trapped in my own demise”, which is a phrase in this new sticker sheet, along with "equilibrium" (this came from a biology class), "I wish upon" etcetera. I wanted to be able to create more stickers that can always be used as a statement on your items and a journal prompt to sit down and reflect on your inner thoughts.
5. One of the key aspects of your brand identity is the ability to reuse every part of your stickers. Have you encountered a time when a search for sustainability was uneconomical, and how did you overcome this?
YES! There have been a couple of limitations but the one big one is the packaging for stickers that are not trading card size. I went on a hunt for reasonable bags and luckily I found some! With a help of some friends ;)
BUT it made me realize that one of the biggest things about sustainability isn't to only find reusable products, it's HOW it’s being used.
For example, a packaging I’ve been looking into is single-use 4x6 plastic sleeves to hold envelopes I recently designed. Rather than reusable plastic button envelopes since it costs a bit more and people will end up with multiples, I thought the best use for plastic is preservation. As digital as the age we live in is, we still own physical items and we can store it in these “single use” plastic sleeves to preserve. Sustainability isn't just the product, it's the user. So I’d thought maybe I can somehow showcase how I might be able to reuse something to spark some ideas! While still trying to find better solutions.
A sneak peak into future products: I recently have talked to a friend about how I wanna showcase the brand and show people how to reuse things that already have specific use. Like some hair clips can be money clips, headphones while using hair clips etc.
6. How long have you been drawing your characters, or are any of them ones you’ve come up with recently?
I started drawing my sunglasses little guys called “cool cats” , a now retired name, in 2020! Maybe a variation of it before? I mainly drew to visualize my crochet ideas and wanted to make cat hats since that was the first thing I learned how to make. As I was self-teaching in 2020-2021 about tapestry crochet (not knowing there was a whole market out there) I drew so many “cool” cats. It was so easy to draw, if you were an OMOI customer of 2022-2023 I would sign off your packages with the cat, rather than my name!
7. Any trend you wish would come back?
Using fomo, foNEUTCH and foNO casually.
8. Any trend you wish would retire?
No, I’ve been a cog in the machine. I have no clue, it’s all blending like current music genres and it can be awesome if we let it happen. Retire causal AI use I guess.
9. What's something you wish people engaged with more?
Speaking of trends, I think that I should use the trends that come out as a way to self-discover. As an ex-contrarian, I love trends because like sustainability in products it is with trends, it's not about the trend but the person taking away from the trend. It’s like getting a catalogue every week but if you take your time you’ll find the shirt you'll love for a long time.
10. And, any shout outs?
This is going to be used as an apology letter ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND LOVE ONES! + internet friends!!! Sorry I’ve been busy or brain dead! I have learned the acceptance of a busy-ness following me and now I have to live along it. I love you! Also I guess my sister and BF and the OMOI team! Too! There’s way too many to shout out and I don't want anyone to get fomo. And you! Dear Reader.