Today we’d like to introduce you to Maci Garcia.
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 started Mualcaina during the peak of the pandemic in November 2020 when I returned to my childhood interest in anime and drawing, I had just graduated college in May 2020 and was working contract roles remotely. I loved decorating my items with vinyl stickers, I really wanted to design my own, and so I started working on my small business. I self-funded my business so I could only afford to create vinyl stickers, but as time went by and I used my skills in social media management, I was able to grow my Instagram to around 10K followers and expanded my product line to enamel pins and car magnets in 2021.
By 2022, anime conventions began to open up, and I saw the opportunity to offer my products in person. With my initial goal of vending at 10 events, I surpassed it, selling in-person at 21 events that year, with my biggest events being 626 Night Market OC, Anime Expo, Fanime, and LA Comic Con.
Cons, combined with several successful Kickstarter projects, and the contract to my full-time role ending, I decided to pursue Mualcaina full-time. Now in 2023, I’ve expanded my product line to include apparel, purses, lanyards, acrylic grips, and recently moved my work into an office where it can house even more products.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Fortunately, the journey has been mostly smooth, however I learned the importance of hiring help when it comes to your business. During the summer of 2022, I received about 50 boxes of Ita bags (enamel pin purses) which took over most of my home, and I had to quality check, package, and ship out over 420+ orders from my Classic Ita Bag Kickstarter and website pre-orders. I did most of it myself and it was so frustrating and mentally draining having to do most of the work (because I thought I could do it best myself) while also being bombarded by emails and preparing for my summer cons. I cried nearly every day from stress and I know now how to better prepare for my upcoming Heartfelt Ita Bag project for summer 2023. I’ve started to train some of my friends whom I’ve hired to help with the work so that I’m not as stressed and customers are happier that their package is going out faster.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Before Mualcaina, I was in college with the goal of pursuing a career in social media marketing in the entertainment/media industry. I had college internships at Warner Music Group (Atlantic Records, Rhino Entertainment) and 1iota Productions LLC (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), and my first full-time job out of college was at BuzzFeed as an Associate Social Media Strategist. I loved social media and creating video content, that when combined with my love for drawing and design, it really helped skyrocket my business.
I’m most proud of my original design: The Classic Ita Bag. Ita bags are bags with a plastic sheet to cover and protect your pins and are decorated in accordance to your fandom, favorite character, etc. They are often adorned with enamel pins, keychains, buttons, etc.
Most Ita bags lean towards a more “kawaii” cartoon-like style, and as someone who initially worked in corporate, I was looking for one that had a more classic design that I could wear out in the office or in any situation outside of a convention. This bag project basically took off on Instagram and TikTok, and paid off my debt to myself (cost of an iPad), allowing me to actually begin to pay myself in the business and see that I could turn this into a living.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck definitely played a huge part in my business. I believe that working hard will get you lucky when the right opportunity comes along, and one instance of that was when Anime Expo applications opened up in 2022. AX is one of the most difficult conventions to get in as a vendor because it boasts over 100K attendees and it is very difficult to NOT profit at that con. Everyone all over the world is trying to get a spot at AX. When apps opened up, I had only done 1 big convention and a few smaller 1-day cons, so it was very intimidating to consider applying for AX when I had just started. Since it was first come first serve, I managed to get a spot in their Artist Alley, and I’m so grateful I did because that event ended up being my highest-grossing con (probably a fourth of what I made at all of my cons combined), and even brought a lot of followers to my socials. I am fortunately vending at this coming AX 2023 as well.
Pricing:
- Classic Ita Bag $90
- Vinyl Stickers $5
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mualcaina.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mualcaina/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mualcaina
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mualcaina/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mualcaina
Image Credits
Mualcaina
Popular
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