Today we’d like to introduce you to Erna Blooms.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a self-taught artist who grew up in a middle-class entrepreneurial family in Indonesia. I realized early on that my strength was not in languages nor science but in expressing my ideas through a visual experience.
After high school, I came to the USA to study design at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, which prepared me well for what was to come.
The year I graduated in 2000, I also started my family and began my creative career as a Graphic Designer, working for a private label home and fine fragrance company that developed products for Fortune 500 clients. It was a fast-paced industry which I enjoyed for several years because I loved seeing our fragrance products in retail stores around the world.
In the 15 years of dedicating myself in that company, I worked my way up to a Creative Director position, managing 7-figure accounts and cross-functional teams. Even though I was grateful for the experience, growth, and travel opportunities, the reality was my health and family life were suffering.
In 2014, a few unexpected events happened. I met a local artist who inspired me to draw again. On the weekends, I would create a series of conceptual art and share them on social media. One of my artworks called Hedgehog Dandelion was dedicated to someone I followed on Instagram because she had been suffering from a severe permanent illness. That art was about letting go of your pains and uncertainties in life and turning them into wishes and hope. She was moved by the gesture and started following my work. That experience of seeing how art could connect two strangers from opposite ends of the world was very meaningful to me and it pivoted my career. I gave my work my six-month resignation notice and pursued my new entrepreneurial path soon after.
The debut of my art collection named Curious Morphologie at the 2015 Wistaria Festival in Sierra Madre was well received. People have inspired my art and seeing how much my art resonated with them, it truly validated my path as a creative entrepreneur. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
Along the way, I started getting referrals for clients who needed brand development services. Helping these visionary, passionate, and purpose-driven entrepreneurs realize their business and brand visions was a fulfilling career for a few years.
A series of wake-up moments have brought me better clarity of myself and my purposeful path. My why now is to help good people win in their life because I realized that the more good people win, the better the world will become. I believe that most of us are worth more than we actually give ourselves credit for.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been an upward straight road. At first, it was more like a roller coaster, but now it has turned into more of a stable upward staircase.
In my entrepreneurial journey, I have gone from being an artist to a creative studio owner, directing clients’ brands and product launches. Things were great. However, at one point, I got complacent and settled on working with only one of my favorite clients, who compensated well and gave me great creative freedom. I ended up letting go other clients with less budget and less conceptual assignments.
That decision left me in a vulnerable place when I was faced with a layoff from that company. I learned the difficult lesson to not put all my eggs in one basket. I had to rebuild my client base again, and fortunately, previous clients were more than happy to have my services back.
The biggest challenge I had was during the pandemic when business came to a halt. Clients faced the same situation in their business, and since design was not their highest priority, they let my services go. On a personal level, I had to step away from my 18-year marriage due to an emotionally abusive relationship and became a single mom of two girls. I was in a state of panic since I have never navigated both situations before and there was so much uncertainty with the pandemic.
Fortunately, I was surrounded by people who loved and supported me. My twin sister simply reminded me to let go of control on the outcome and just get up to look for more business. She helped me snap out of my comfort zone, so I could start again from ground zero.
In June 2020, I gathered my trusted and talented family and friends to form what I’ve been meaning to build, Blooming Aces Creative. I’ve managed to reframe my mindset to embrace challenges as opportunities to aim bigger and grow with a team. We stumbled forward together by launching a podcast on YouTube, creating new branding offers that served more clients and putting team members into different roles that fit their natural gifts. Within a year, we managed to rebuild to a 6-figure business, thanks to my family, close friends, mentors, and dedicated team members.
Growing a team has its own challenges. I learned to let go of perfection and unrealistic expectations of myself and others. Upholding excellence doesn’t mean I have to be perfect in everything. To grow my business to the next level meant I needed to accept my role in my own organization and put the proper management structure to allow every team member to shine. This shifted my productivity and the direction of my business. I found more joy in my working days. Since then, things started to flow more smoothly.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve recently realized that my strength is in being a Character Branding Coach to help good entrepreneurs fast-track their brand development by teaching them how to stand up, stand out, and make a difference in the most joyful ways.
I don’t believe in competition; I believe in collaborations. When we collaborate with people that we trust to share our core values and a synergistic vision, we will go farther than we could ever imagine.
Aside from building our clients’ brands, our team has also come together to build Curious Morphologie brand version 2.0. We are excited to reach out to our neighborhoods and invite them to join our #HelloYouMovement that brings people together through meaningful art, thoughtfulness, and acts of kindness. Stay tuned for our movement launch later this year!
I am proud of how far I have come despite all the challenges and the difference I have made along the way. I came to realize that each one of us has something new to learn every day in our lifetime. We should be grateful that we are given today to get up, grow, and go for our dreams. If we open ourselves up to allow others to come along with us, that’s just icing on the cake for me.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
You are more than good enough to be the face of your brand. If you have said to yourself, “I am not photogenic,” “I am not good in front of the camera,” or “I don’t have an inspiring brand story,” but deep down, you would love to be better at showing up to share your story, I’m happy to help. You can schedule a complimentary discovery call via my IG bio link or through BloomingAces.com website to learn how I can help you achieve these and more. It takes courage to believe and invest in yourself. I would be honored to show you how the branding process to realize your vision could be joyful and fun!
Pricing:
- Character Branding VIP Foundation Package (brand development and coaching package: $5998
- 360° VIP Mastermind Day (2 x 4 hour VIP day): $1498
- Character Branding VIP Jam Session (2 hours, 1:1 coaching): $598
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bloomingaces.com/pages/portfolio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ernablooms/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZI2r8qxKJ3ZL4prnv1a7VQ
- Other: https://curiousmorphologie.com/collections/art-print-collection
Image Credits
IG: @sintra_gram Blooming Aces Creative Curious Morphologie Vanessa Stump Caroline Guntur Jaleh Zandieh
