Alicia Souza worked in a bank for a while; but once upon a time she wanted to be a veterinarian or a wrestler actually, but ended taking up drawing and designing as her career.
She did her schooling in Abu Dhabi and pursued a university degree in communication design from Melbourne. After all these years spent in the Middle East she decided to move to India, “Well, I moved to Bangalore to work on ‘Chumbak’ and Bangalore was our base. That’s about it, really,” said Alicia.
AnimationXpress.com got in touch with the multi-talented Alicia to understand her business better. After completing her degree Alicia worked part time as an illustrator and also did part time job in a bank; being passionate about both the jobs, a time came when she was in a dilemma of picking one of the two careers. And it must come as no bolt from the blue that she picked illustrating and designing. “Well, drawing is what every child does, but it didn’t just stop there for me. I focused on it through university and when I left, I realised I could earn a modest living through it. Hence, the career choice, in short,” added Alicia.
After the astonishing feedback from her first solo exhibition of products, she decided to bring her products to an online store. “My online store was a success because I got it up and running while still working on so many other things. The reason I started the online store was because of customer’s response and requests after mini-events,” she reveals.
Alicia promises to bring ‘your order to your door’, with the help of her most loyal local manufacturers and an enduring web developer. She has also joined hands with a courier service to reach out to various parts of the nation. “My products are artist merchandise and so people who buy from my store are basically people who like my work. I have a Facebook page which is where I have my largest fan base, if I may say. I don’t spend money on promotion and well, it’s just me and little help from my friends,” adds Alicia.
With no particular target group, Alicia focuses on providing products to everyone and anyone who wants ‘Happy Things’. Her fastest selling product was the ‘Grateful Calendar’ which was by customers and for the customers!
Everything has its pros & cons, she quips: “Being an illustrator completely depends on what you need to survive, I guess. It’s about making a mark and being passionate about what you do.”
With no plans of opening a store in the near future or no cash on delivery as of now; Alicia ends, “From writing a book, to learning to make the perfect cheesecake to lessening my caffeine intake these are my future plans for now (chuckles).”
