Life & Work with Heriberto Rubalcava

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heriberto Rubalcava.

Hi Heriberto, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
For as long as I can remember, we’ve been proud of our Mexican culture and roots. As kids, we played songs from Los Bukis “Mexican Beatles” in elementary school during our recess breaks. In the Summer months, we would travel to México where our parents grew up. 30 years later we created an apparel brand that represents our culture, embraces our Roots, and above all, inspires us to be Us.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This journey hasn’t been a walk in the park, we’ve had struggles along the way from finding the right manufacturer, to financing our merchandise, to getting legal advice.

Some of the challenges with manufacturers have been finding one that provides good quality products at a good price point.

Financing our business hasn’t been easy, when we first started I sold my ford contour to buy blank t-shirts and get them printed. As our business continues to grow discover new ways to finance our business.

Legal has always been a tricky one, prior we never had knowledge of copyright, trademarks, etc. but one thing led to another and found a legal firm to register our brand.

Those are some of the many obstacles we’ve faced throughout our journey.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Ever since I can remember I have always been curious about art. From sketching online paper, cutting out illustrations from other books, and making scrapbooks to tracing existing illustrations and making short books for kids.

Fast forward 20 years I went to college to study film, 2 years into it I realize the film wasn’t meant for me. Confused and scared of an uncertain career path I wandered the hallways trying to find my calling. Weeks later a friend of mine mention graphic design, I did my research, signed up for a few classes, and change my career. Have been doing graphic design ever since.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
In every phase of our professional careers, there have been great mentors from professors, coworkers, friends, and family. One person in particular that stands out has been my mom. She inspires us to work hard and has faith in what we are doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pipiripau.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pipiripaubrand/
• Twitter: twitter.com/pipiripaubrand
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1TAk-Iytejlw8fXx5iCyg/videos
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@pipiripau?lang=en

Image Credits
Pipiripau