21 Questions with Iris Hsiung

By Staff Writers Amy Han & Felicity He

 

Origins: 

What began your passion for art and design?

• “I think my passion for art and design began in early elementary school, when we would be given projects …in first grade [or] second grade. I got an end of the year artistic award, and that made me really want to continue doing art stuff. Afterwards, I was given a bunch of opportunities where I could design stuff around my church or my community, and that just made me want to do more art stuff.”

 

Design emBloom: 

What initially inspired you to start your business, Design emBloom? 

• “I was designing the merch for RFL, but then one of my friends asked me, ‘Iris, do you have a business account then, if you’ve been doing merch design for different organizations?’ and that’s what prompted me to create Design emBloom, so I can start making money off of the work I’ve already been doing.” 

What’s the story behind the name Design emBloom?

• “My name means Iris, and it’s also a flower. When I was trying to think of different names, I wanted to include ‘design’ for sure… and flowers bloom, like how designs…can go from something that’s purely on the web to become tangible products.”

What types of projects and clients have you worked with so far?

• “I’ve worked with individuals who have asked me to customize ornaments and things I’m selling right now and then. I’ve also worked with clubs and sports teams, …class posts, such as the MSJ 2027 class officer posts…I’ve also done MSJ Badminton’s jackets and jerseys…And then also other outside of school organizations like Fremont Youth Chamber, which my friends started.”

 

Mission: 

Describe the purpose or mission of Design emBloom.

• “I say the purpose is to spread more creativity within different organizations through art, because I know a bunch of clubs or different organizations out there now use a bunch of AI material for their designs or using purely-based graphics that companies have already pre-made for them. I think having something where it’s handmade or by other people through creative process is better, and can help brighten the world.” 

How do you hope your art and designs impact the community, especially at MSJ? 

• “Hopefully [my art] can make things more bright and not as monotonous to clubs and organizations and can help make different clubs have more impact, such as MSJ Badminton or MSJ Makes having their own hoodies and different custom logos, …so everyone has representation within MSJ.” 

 

Personal Style: 

How do your past experiences and interests influence your current work?

• “I tend to make things very rounded and bubbly, so I think that’s part of the thing that goes into specialization of my designs.” 

What is your favorite project you’ve ever worked on?

• “I think my favorite project I’ve worked on is the holiday ornaments that I’m making, because it’s a completely new medium that I’ve worked with. Painting on wooden slabs is something I’ve never actually done before, so working on these for individual customers is really fun and a new experience.” 

What’s your favorite part of the design process?

• “I think my favorite part is probably making the initial thumbnails, the different creative designs, and getting to work with the people in charge, because…it’s like pulling different ideas together and then thinking of random revelations…And that’s a really fun process.”

 

Process:

What was the most meaningful business feedback you’ve ever gotten?

• “I was originally planning on charging very little for stuff, but then I think one of my friends was like, ‘Oh, you’re underestimating how much this stuff should be costing and then you’re putting yourself too far down,’ so I think that helped boost my morale to charge a bit higher…”

Describe how you handle your orders. What’s the process like?

• “Usually, …I meet with them in person to discuss, and then also through online getting their contact information. …I also have a web page open for people that can find my contact DM me. …I also have a Google Form, open for payments, mainly through Zelle.” 

How do you balance creativity with efficiency when taking on orders? 

• “I usually just spend as much time as I can on one project to make it as fast as I can, and then hopefully it’s efficient enough. But I think making it as good as possible before balancing it out with efficiency is better, because if your design isn’t good enough, it doesn’t really matter how much time you put into it, because it’s the end result that matters more.” 

 

Challenges: 

• “Some obstacles I face are getting people to be interested in the products I do or getting outreach.”

What is a creative skill you are working on? 

• “I think one of the things I need to work on is making things more minimalistic so it’s more readable for the audience.”

What challenges have you encountered in running your business, and how did you overcome them? 

• “I get really scared whenever I post stuff for making my business stuff; I’m scared of how people receive it. I think that was one of the challenges–being able to post stuff…and not care as much about if people really actually like it or not. But then I think another thing is getting people to actually…look at my stuff and then want to buy it, because that’s how you get customers, so I think advertising is another big issue I’ve had.”

 

Growth/ Direction: 

How has your artistic style and medium preferences evolved over time? 

• “When I used to think about art, I used to always think about traditional mediums, but with…designing logos and products for people, it’s mainly… all online, so it’s very different than what I originally imagined myself doing.”

Do you see yourself selling at craft fairs with your own original merchandise in the foreseeable future?

• “I have ideas of stuff that I would want to do, but then I think with, my schedule right now, I’m really, really busy with school life…Maybe, in the future, if my business were to open up more to more customers, I would be more willing to join craft fairs and then make my own characters and design, but right now, I’d rather focus towards getting other people what they want first from my designs.”

What has running a business taught you about creativity and entrepreneurship? 

• “Before this entire experience, I used to think running a business would be a lot more…strenuous. I thought it would take a much bigger toll on me than it actually has. It’s been more like fun and …I can actually do more than what I thought it would be before…”

Are there any milestones or goals that you hope to achieve with Design emBloom? 

• “I want to be able to reach out to more clubs on campus and get more customers and money, but I just want to be able to expand my portfolio more and help out with more class merchandise or posts on social media.”

How do your customers react when they receive their orders? Has any customer response ever deeply moved or motivated you? 

• “It was really cool to see someone that I didn’t even know actually like my artworks…”

Have you ever doubted yourself? How did you push through those difficult periods? 

• “I doubt myself a lot whenever I’m making the designs. Is this going to look good with this organization? Is it going to help actually represent them? Will people who are wearing the material like it? And I think what pushes me through is my friends when they see my art and [say], “Oh, I really, really like this.” …One of the best things that helps me get through doubt is when my friends or people around me are really supportive about it.”

 

Final Note: 

What advice would you give to students who want to start their own entrepreneurial projects?

• “As long as you take the first step forward, after that, it’s just about how often you do things, just keeping up with the process and not thinking that… ‘I’m not getting any customers. I should just quit.’  Instead, you should just think that, ‘…no one’s ordering for me right now, but I know in the future, more people might be interested, so I should just keep this up and it’ll be good in the long-term.”

Do you want to say something cute to end off the interview?

• “Come order your custom designs through Design emBloom, and we’ll be sure to make your dreams come true.”