Today we’d like to introduce you to Aarika Leigh Alura.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Aarika Leigh. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well…it’s a lot (haha). I suppose I should start off saying that I am a proud 1st Generation Filipina-American. My parents are both Filipino immigrants who met at church here in the States, and I currently hold dual citizenship both in the US and in the Philippines. I live just outside of LA county, but my work and most of my day-to-day activities involve me driving all over LA, and that’s because I tend to wear many hats.
During normal business hours, I’m an English Professor at two SoCal universities, where I teach composition to traditional students and ESL to international students. I’ve been teaching for close to five years now and every day is different, every semester brings new personalities into the classroom, and so life is always interesting.
On the weekends, I’m a Children’s Ministry Administrator at my church. I oversee the logistics: curriculum, teacher training, scheduling, and social media. I also serve as one of the Musical directors for both our Children and Youth Ministries. Combined, I think I’ve done 16 productions over the last ten years, five of which were original pieces that I wrote, produced, and directed.
On my personal time, I run an online sticker shop on Instagram: @alaala.ko, which is growing faster than I anticipated, but it has definitely been fun running with it. I specialize in Fandom/Novelty and Custom stickers and work to create pieces that trigger beautiful memories.
So, like I said, I wear a lot of hats (haha). If I had to pick a word to define myself, I suppose I’m best known as a Creative. But that encompasses my belief that creativity has a responsibility to be more than just aesthetic. I value the intersection between art, innovation, and education and try to incorporate that convergence in the classroom with my students, at church with my church family, and within my business model.
I am where I am today because at the core of everything I do, I see worth in self-expression, open communication, and sharing real and honest life-experiences.
Has it been a smooth road?
No, but it has been a wild one.
All of the spaces that I play in creatively have this duality of structure and freeform.
In my classroom, there are clear objectives that must be met, but every student is different in personality and learning style, so there has to be room to be flexible for that.
In my church, there are clear definitions of divine standards. However, people are messy and imperfect, so there has to be grace for that.
In my business, there are clear demographics and statistics that have to be considered if I want to be successful. And yet, I work in a creative medium that is subjective and within a business model that is emotion-based.
But that is the war I wage (haha). There is a constant battle for balance in my life, which has led to discouragement when imbalances are exposed. It’s hard not to feel like you’ve failed the people around you who count on you, but even harder when you feel like you’ve failed yourself.
I strive to show grace to others and can often be overly accommodating, but I sometimes lack the ability sometimes to give grace to myself. I have been learning how to do that better. How to cut myself slack, how to quiet my mind, how to slow down.
I know it may not seem like it with everything that I do, but it has gotten better. Still on the struggle bus, but…close to getting off (hopefully lol).
Please tell us more about your art.
So, I recently opened an online sticker shop called “alaala.ko illustrations” (@alaala.ko) and I mostly work through Instagram and a google doc order form, but I just transitioned my inventory to a legitimate website: www.alaala-ko.com.
My business is still very young. I launched July 30 with just an intro video, a handful of stickers, and a kind of fleeting feeling that it could turn into something. But I definitely didn’t expect the response that I got. I’ve been gaining followers every day and it’s kind of jarring how quickly things are happening. But it’s also really exciting.
In my shop, I specialize in Fandom/Novelty & Custom stickers, which means that I have an inventory of memorable scenes, memes, and moments from pop culture, but I also do custom work: selfies, logos, family photos/catchphrases.
I’m probably most known for my custom work, but I really hope that people will notice some of my inventory as well.
I have always liked to draw, but never had the time to really hone that skill. So, when everything shut down because of Coronavirus, I suddenly had a lot of time to play with ProCreate and practice this skill set that I had never had time for before. Moreover, I had a lot of time to shop online, which resulted in me buying a lot of stickers on Etsy because I think they are a fun way to pay homage to fandoms.
But there were a lack of the types of stickers I wanted; pieces that encompassed the most heart-wrenching moments of the fandoms I loved. So, that led me to begin creating my own, which then led to friends of mine seeing these pieces and offering to buy them from me. Thus, alaala.ko illustrations was born.
Ultimately, my business came from a desire to create and share powerful memories with my friends and family, which became the core value of my shop.
“Ang alaala ko,” in Tagalog means, “my memory,” and so what I love to craft and create are stickers that memorialize the best moments in life, on and off the screen. I am a visual learner and so images have a huge impact on me, which is why my shop looks to capitalize on that idea of visually triggering a memory.
I am most proud of the fact that my business caters to the individual. I love giving people pieces that spark a feeling, whether that’s an inventory or a custom piece. I am proud that I get to share an experience with people in this way and that the work is fun. I think it’s hard to not find stickers fun, you know?
And that’s what sets alaala.ko apart from others. I’m not really trying to market a product, which I know sounds odd since it is a business and there are business strategies that go into all of this. But what I wanted to do when I started this, and what I am, ultimately, striving to do now is share a story that is impactful in my personal narrative while inviting others to do the same.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think LA is the perfect place for someone to start a creative business. There is a lot of competition, but I think that Los Angeles has always been a place where free-expression is celebrated and it’s full of go-getters that want to enable others to do the same. We live in a time where social media connects us all and new communities are created every day. So, if you’re really serious about sharing your work and becoming a part of a community through your business, I think LA is the perfect place to start.
However, I do think that any young business owner needs to be practical, needs to do their research, and needs to make sure that they love what they do because, metaphorically speaking, it’s not always sunny in LA. And you have to be strong and mature enough to show yourself a little grace and roll with the punches when it isn’t. If not, you won’t survive and you’ll just take that discouragement into the next thing that you do.
So, be honest and genuine in your efforts, but be prepared as well. Do all of that and you’ll be unstoppable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alaala-ko.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @alaala.ko
Image Credit:
Patrick Gonzales @patrickjgonzales, Garrett Alura
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