hey kind humans ◡̈

it’s me again! you might’ve remembered me from the newsletter i sent out just a few days ago (i know, i know, it’s ironic how i can go from posting 1 newsletter every 2 months to 2 in a week — but hey, this is the sporadic newsletter you signed up for :)

in issues #02 and #03 i talked about how i’m currently working on an experimental art shop. it’s my little creative side quest where i’m allowing myself to explore different mediums for creating through physical and digital art. WELL, TODAY THE SHOP IS FINALLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 🎉

why i decided to create a shop

as you might’ve seen in my recent video, i’ve been a huge fan of the idea that you can literally just do things. when you realize that in most cases the biggest thing holding you back from pursuing the things that spark your curiosity is YOU, the world seems to shine a little brighter. suddenly you aren’t waiting for permission to start but rather giving yourself the keys to do so.

when it came to creating this shop, there wasn’t really one firm hard ‘yes’ as to why i should create one. if anything, one could argue i’d be better off spending my time doubling down on videos or other things.

but there are a few reasons as to why i figured creating a shop would be a good idea:

• i am an artist - phew, it feels weird saying that, but even if it’s not the main ‘label’ or group i’d put myself in, there’s truth in the idea that anyone who creates art is an artist. i’ve loved art since i was a kid and never really saw it as a career path. i’d create polymer clay figures and sell them to my father’s coworkers & i’d paint anime watercolour paintings and sell them on etsy. in a way, this shop just feels like an extension of my childhood self, the one who was always creating something.

• tangible things are cool - to bring an idea or a design into a physical form is so wonderful. seeing your work out in the world & being able to hold it in your hand gives a sense of realness that social media lacks

• the desire to create something bigger than myself - i’ve echoed this sentiment many times before in writing, in my videos, & in my past lives pre-content creation, but i’ve always wanted to create something with lasting impact. over the years, my definition of ‘impact’ has evolved and at this point in my life impact can mean anything from giving someone a cool new sticker to add to their water bottle to inspiring them to change their life.

there is no right or wrong time to lean into your curiosities and so i figured why not start my shop now?

everything you need to know about the shop launch

DROP_001 is the first collection of goods on my shop. In this first drop, every item is inspired after ‘The Art of Unlearning’ video series I created. Each drop will have a unifying theme, one that allows me to explore something i’m curious about.

In this drop, I was curious to explore how I could take my storytelling skills & turn them into something tangible. I blended my interest in typography & graphic design to create a short zine, stickers, and wallpapers.

shipping!

all physical products are only available in Canada & the US but all digital products are global since no physical shipping is required.

i’ll be hand packing each order myself & will be shipping things out in batches <3. i’ll keep people updated on my IG story & you’ll receive an email when your order is fulfilled. currently there is a strike going on with Canada Post so hopefully by the time i’m ready to ship the first wave of orders the strike is no longer in effect.

what’s (literally) in store?

ZINE & STICKER BUNDLE

this is a bundle of two stickers (the mirror-finish ‘art of unlearning’ sticker and the white ‘unlearning’ sticker) and a physical print of my first ever zine.

i thought a bundle would be nice because it feels like a little gift to yourself (or someone else). admittedly, i wanted to sell the zine and stickers as separate listings but for this first drop i thought it made sense to combine them both from a practical standpoint (i.e. i’ll be handpacking all of these orders) and because the zine itself is quite short.

this is sold in limited quantities & i’m not sure yet if i want to do a restock or leave it as a one-time exclusive item, we’ll see based on demand :)

SINGLE STICKER

this sticker is designed after the title sequence i used in every art of unlearning video. it’s a matte white vinyl finish and would look perfect on your favourite journal, water bottle, laptop, suitcase, or wherever else you fancy.

MINI PRINT-AT-HOME ZINE

this is a the digital download version of my zine. it’s mini in size but has all the same pages as the physical copy. with this digital download, you can print your own art of unlearning zine at home (don’t worry i’ve included a video on how to assemble the zine!) — i thought this would be a nice, more accessible option for my international audience since the physical goods only ship to US/Canada at the moment.

PHONE WALLPAPERS

there are 6 wallpapers in this digital download (3 unique designs, each with a light and dark variation for a total of 6 wallpapers) — making these was fun because i incorporated little easter eggs in the design.

i asked you guys a while back which episode in the series was your favourite & took the top responses to create two of the wallpapers based on episodes 005 and 006.

honestly, i have no clue how the shop is going to go & have already learned so much that i want to apply in future drops, but that’s the beauty of it :) thank you all so much for being here & for supporting me on my journey, i feel so grateful to be able to create cool stuff every day

create, don’t overthink, repeat

oh & if you have any questions about the shop, feel free to reply directly to this email