In my second to last About the Author post, I talked about my love for art and my being a fine art collector. I also said I would do a whole separate post on it, so here we are! Aside from this being more on how to get to know the Writer behind this website, what does this have to do with Tea…? Well to make the connection: one of my draws to Afternoon Tea Culture was the interior design you find in most tea rooms. There, I made it work haha.

I thought I was going to start with one of the first pieces I bought… But actually, it goes further back. So I’ll start there.

When I followed my old Old Navy Manager (she was a proxy mom to me) to work at Michaels Craft Stores, she put me in Custom Framing. Which was perfect for me as I’ve always loved art. I learned really fast and I got really good. One of my favorite jobs to date! In no time, I became the Senior Certified Framer. But the best part of my days was when I got to listen to people’s stories of their beloved pieces and help them come up with a mat + frame that would complement their art. Again because of my tetrachromat eyes, I would put together unexpected combinations that would highlight their paintings or tapestries or posters. I slowly started framing my own pieces, then our friends would come in to see me…it became a passion. Before this, I would visit art galleries and just observe and admire. But now I was going to art shows and buying pieces! A loved show the Huz + I attended was by artists that created cover art and promo posters for musicians. We have original pieces for concerts of Bob Marley, 311, and the Gorillaz.

I got busy with motherhood and parenting, so the art purchasing kinda stopped. Now I was putting up family pictures and kids’ art on the fridge. But when my babies got older and I had the time for home decor again, I started to get my feet a little bit wet. I even started an Instagram account dedicated to my decor ideas, a ‘diary’ if you will.

May 2019 – I remember walking through a food truck event with my family. Yes, I’m there for the food. But my favorite part of those things are the booths! I love seeing all the independent vendors and small business shops of crafts + art. One in particular caught my eye. It was of a woman with really exaggerated long hair. I bought 3 pieces of his!! Haha.

July 2019 – My Sister dropped off a bunch of extra art supplies she had lying around the house, including some canvases. All different sizes. When I started my trauma recovery and started painting, it was mostly objects. I had never tried my hand at canvas before… I created my first piece on 7/18/19. There were some tiny ones from that box too, a 3-inch by 3-inch. I had been painting abstract seascapes and wanted to keep with the coastal theme. I was obsessed with Mexican blankets. They just reminded me so much of our time spent with the ocean, and that brought me so much comfort. I love their pattern and thought I would try and paint one! Something about creating those lines over and over, calmed me. I painted more. Then more. Didn’t know what to do with them, until someone suggested I try to sell them online. What? No one cares about these! I tried. They sold out. I kept creating more and people kept buying more. One customer commissioned TWENTY to be made!! When I moved onto serape blankets, oh everyone wanted those. These were tiny canvases. Intricate pieces. Some took me HOURS to finish. The first time I felt “successful” was when I sold one of my 3″x3″ paintings for $125.00 and someone was actually EXCITED to pay me that much money for my art!!?! Yeah. Talk about brain explosion emojis! After I made my first couple hundred bucks, I went back to that artist (Chris Ouk of Wikid Canvas) I found at the food truck event- and commissioned my own piece. What a full circle moment.

We were deep into the Pandemic now. Stimulus checks were coming in. We have always lived a simple life, the 4 of us (5 including the dog). We don’t travel, we don’t eat out much. Once needs were taken care of, we were allowed to each spend on whatever brought us joy…especially since we were just ALWAYS HOME. I chose art. I had a finsta where I followed all my favorite artists. David Garibaldi, Tim Okamura, Erin Yoshi… Camilla West, Robert Roth, Stephen Magsig… Classic favorites: Norman Rockwell, Margaret Keane, Rothko… New favorites: Loui Jover, Lindsay Rapp, Leslie Weaver, Jessica Durant, Claudia Tremblay, Amanda Ryan Tucker… I was heavily tapping into my Hawaiian side at the time, so I fancied Punkyaloha, Aloha de Mele, Mayan Llanera, Kat Reeder… Coastal art of course: Chilvers, Abel Arts, Courtney Mixed… I honestly could go on and on. And on. And on and on and on.

I began purchasing and collecting. Our walls started to fill up. There is not a room in our entire house that doesn’t have art in it. I always say our home decor is like Art Gallery meets Beachy VW Van hahah! (cuz I also wanted comfort right, so we have these huge ugly dark brown cozy couches with serape blankets hanging on the back of them) But, I was able to acquire quite the collection and have vignettes carefully created all throughout the house. I love it here.

In my imagination while planning this post, I visualized taking gorgeous shots of all the corners of our home and sharing them here. That, or maybe tediously looking up each and every piece I have bought over the years and linking them. However, some things have to be kept private and/or left to the imagination or interpretation. It’s more fun that way! So I encourage you to look up these artists! I didn’t link them so you could have the honor and excitement of doing that part yourselves. I hope you find a new favorite and start a collection of your own! (if you haven’t already got one) Thank you for taking an interest in my interests!! Next one I think will be about music…so leave your email with us, so you don’t miss out!

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Some reasons why I always hear “You should write a book!” (that I could share here):

1. I skipped kindergarten.

2. I won my 3rd grade Math-a-Thon’s Grand Prize and took home a 10-speed bike.

3. I sang the National Anthem for my high school graduation.

3b. The girl who was partnered to sing with me, turned off my mic but I was still louder than her without it.

4. I met Robin Williams.

5. Someone wrote a song about me.

6. I was on a TV show in Japan.

7. I worked for DreamWorks twice.

8. Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men serenaded me.

9. I am a Tetrachromat, which means I have a 4th color receptor in my eyes.

10. I am part of the 2% of the population that carries the gene that doesn’t produce odor in my armpits or feet.

11. I am fascinated with names, know most everyone around me’s middle name, and have had the honor of naming/spelling quite a few friends’ baby’s names.

12. I used to be a foot model.

Submit your questions or requests for more context on each of these in the comments or in my DMs heheh. Thank you for reading!

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