By Junanna Chen
The soft thuds of the stylus on a screen echo across the room. There’s something magical in the air as soot sprites from “My Neighbor Totoro” dance through the window while “No Face,” a character from “Spirited Away” watches over them. With a gentle breeze tickling the curtains and the lamp’s glow floating like a jellyfish, senior Ivy Le is hunched over her worn desk, designing her newest stickers.
In this unique world of Asian snacks and Studio Ghibli, Ivy Le single handedly created and delivered a place of childhood nostalgia in the form of stickers.
Stemming from her passion for journaling and affinity for all things cute, Le’s artistry has expanded greatly since she began at 8 years old. Her endearing and charming personality shines through her illustrations on her Instagram, @tofuivy, where she conducts her shop.
“I’ve always just liked art. I wish there was a deeper meaning for it, but I just like it,” Le said.
You can tell a lot about an artist by their works. With a soft color palette and simple, yet adorable designs, Le’s art takes the audience back to an afternoon at an Asian grocery store and an evening of binging Studio Ghibli movies.
Inspired by Studio Ghibli and her childhood memories of trips to ABC Market, Le makes sure to incorporate her own magic into her sticker designs.
In fact, her art style is very reminiscent of the iconic animation studio, with gentle lines and their iconic characters, like a very-fitting Calificer from the iconic Howl’s Moving Castle on a Sriacha bottle. Drawing from her own cultural background, the fusion of Asian snacks with her childhood favorites from Studio Ghibli, Le constantly finds inspiration from common Asian-American experiences.
“I do food art because I really like Asian snacks. They’re small, wholesome things that bring joy and I wanted to bring that to life with stickers,” Le said. “I really like eating food and watching Studio Ghibli and it’s only one of my favorite [movie] genres. And I wanted to create a whole style based off of it.”
However, running a business on her own is no easy feat. Le sometimes feels overwhelmed when facing obstacles like uncertainty and artists’ block.
“Some aspects are difficult since I’m not 18 yet, so I can’t move to any online marketplace like Etsy, but for the most part it’s been easy and manageable because I have a good plan with managing everything,” Le said.
Regardless of the obstacles she faces, Le finds that her business is a stress reliever and encourages herself to improve by the positive feedback she gets.
“I find happiness in packing orders and bringing them to my customers because it brings joy to them,” Le said with a smile. “With every opening and drop I have, I feel more inspired to improve myself.”
Le is constantly experimenting with different styles and expanding her shop. With ambitions to make new designs, keychains, pins and prints, Le plans on moving to Etsy, where she’ll reach a wider audience.
While maintaining her business isn’t her sole focus, she plans on continuing it on the side.
“I’m not so sure when I’ll stop because this is something that makes me happy,” Le said. I don’t plan on stopping for a while.”
Le’s heavy effort into her art and business don’t go unnoticed and touches her customers.
“The shop’s excellent service can be attributed to her kindness, professionalism, and creativity,” senior Rachel To, one of Le’s customers, said.
With an affinity for art and aesthetically pleasing designs, it’s no surprise that Le goes to great lengths to protect the stickers with the utmost care in protective packaging with a thank you card and sticker.
“The stickers have really cute and subtle designs,” senior Emily Lai said. “They’re also packaged well when you buy them and everything is very aesthetically pleasing.”
Le urges other artists to expand their horizons and experiment with their styles. Creativity comes when people least expect it and art is a lengthy process.
“‘Good art’ doesn’t have to be in one box and you can go out of your comfort zone and do things you’ve never done before,” Le said. “You can only get better from where you are.”
For more information on Le’s stickers, Le is available for contact on her Instagram @tofuivy.
This article was originally published in the 2021 RED Magazine. Stop by room 306 to pick up a copy
