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Oh Ray…

Raymundo,

It’s been a long while since I’ve written to you (actually, it’s been a while since I’ve written on this blog at all). This year, your absence has hit me right where it hurts. Charlie, Carlo, and I had a long conversation about you last weekend. You just came up in conversation randomly. I told them about my dreams of you, we reminisced about memories of you, and we talked about how you changed our lives forever. I actually admitted that though I have many vivid memories of our times together that your face is beginning to fade in my mind. And it made me sad to think that was possible. Though I cling on to our laughs, cries, happiness, and sad moments as tightly as I can the image of your face isn’t as clear as it used to be. But your loving spirit is as clear as day.

Today, I see your face all over Facebook and Instagram and remember how handsome you are. How could I ever forget that face?! I remember how hard it was to get you to smile that signature smile of yours because you always wanted to make a funny face to the camera. Look at that smile! It lights up a room!

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And I love how most of your friends and family picked those silly photos of you. The funny faces show your true character, the guy we love so much.

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I reminds me that a lot of us aren’t as afraid of being so silly thanks to you. You accepted all of us and loved us for who we truly are. Even with faults and short comings, you loved us unconditionally. Thank you for that, especially when we needed it the most.

I love and miss you Ray. More than words can ever express. As life milestones pass us by I can’t help but wish you were here to see them happen. But I always forget that you are with us, you’re with all of us.

The only thing I can think of saying now is the last words I said to you, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

xoxo,

Kissa

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Starting Again

Hi everyone!

It’s been hot as H.E.L.L. in Los Angeles. So I’ve been doing my best to stay as cool as possible so I can stay productive. The heat just makes me want to sit on the couch, drink a cold glass of iced tea, and veg. With less than 2 weeks left to Unique LA, I have no time to veg!

As you guys know, I recently took down our online shop in preparation for our product revamp. I’ve been taking the past few months to reflect and really think about my brand, my products, and how I want to make an impact using this company. With our newly established mission to evoke and inspire emotion and memories through our products, I have let that be the driving force when I design. I really want to make you laugh, smile, tear up, or feel inspired when you buy one of our products!

It’s definitely not an easy task to design for a mission. I can’t just draw out what is in my head and use it like I used to. It’s got to have purpose. My designs need to fulfill a destiny (or at least that’s how I like to think of it). And though it’s not easy, it’s much more rewarding. A million times more rewarding!

Starting again hasn’t been easy. I thought I’d be able to just shut down and reopen in a couple months. But this is definitely a longer process than I ever imagined. And while my little business is slowly growing and changing, I’m changing. I’m becoming more confident in my ability, I believe in my business model and have faith in God’s plan for us.

I can’t wait to share with you what we have in store for our first release! 🙂

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Product Development and the Road to Unique LA

Oh dear friends. These past few weeks have been so much fun for me!  Creating designs and products is something that I really enjoy. The hard part is narrowing my ideas down. My mind never stops and I always have more product ideas than what is feasible for us at the moment. In the past, I was always the type that had an idea and ran with it. It didn’t matter what the idea was, it didn’t matter if the idea or product didn’t match with anything else. I would create that product anyway. Our product line was such a mish-mash. But now, I realize that product development is key. Do all your products represent your brand the way you want them to? Mine didn’t.

I’m in the middle of solidifying our line for our first real release. And I’ve been torn about a few items that I used to carry and am hesitant to carry now. Invitations and custom design for example. These 2 services were a huge part of my business until recently – especially in the first few years of my business. But my business is changing, I’m changing, and what I enjoy to do isn’t what it used to be. I’ve been torn about these 2 services since I decided it was time for a change. But instead of stressing myself about it, I trust that the answer will come to me when the time is right. In the mean time, I’m creating and working on what I know represents us well. 🙂

What I’m really excited about right now are the products we’re going to showcase at our “soft launch” at Unique LA. We’ve taken down our products temporarily from our online store because we’ve been doing a lot of critical thinking and changing around here, but I’ve been showing sneak peeks on our Instagram on the things we’ve been working on like these stickers. Excuse my shameful manicure! 😛

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And this photo here.

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This was originally a pattern we created for our phone and tablets but are in the process of utilizing this gorgeousness for other products. So excited to be able to use this for cards and stuff!

Hope everyone has a great week!

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