We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christina Cabrales. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christina below.

Hi Christina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

For a long time, I believed that as an introvert, I couldn’t have an impact or make a difference. I struggled a lot, trying to be louder and bolder, until I reached a point where I completely lost myself.

I was working as an architect in a successful and busy architecture company. Although most of the time I was happy with my job I somehow felt that I’m not made for this stressful and competitive work environment, feeling out of place. I remember frequently myself: what the heck am I doing here?

During a particularly stressful period, I started to paint again. In the evenings I would come home and paint with watercolors. Although I had painted a lot as a child and teenager, I had lost the connection to it long ago. Then in architecture school, there was a very distinct way aesthetic was perceived, like there was just one “true” way how you’re supposed to draw, dress and design. There was hardly any space for intuition and emotions, and the overarching goal was to fit into a specific architect image.

One night, I woke up from a dream with a whale. I heard the sounds around the whale, its heartbeat, and felt the ocean around me. Captivated by this impressive dream I started to paint whales.

So I painted whale after whale and was fascinated by their nature of being and the huge variety of whale species. For Christmas I had the idea to create a calendar with my whale illustrations, gifting it to my family and friends. I received the nicest feedback and love for this calendars. I realized, that combining purpose driven art with a nice product has the power not only to bring joy to people but also to raise awareness for nature and biodiversity.

And there my own meaningful project was born – my stationery business. Through my paper goods, I was able to raise €20,000 for environmental and conservation organizations like WDC in the past four years.

I get often asked what is so special about whales? With my art I have made kind of a deep dive into the whale world and fell in love with their fascinating nature, their emotional intelligence and social structures. There are incredible stories about whales that need to be told, to raise awareness and affection.

For example, there was a little Narwhal that lost his group due to the loud noises from container ships. Whales, like humans, need to learn for several years as children within their families, discovering how to find food, be aware of dangers, and ultimately, survive. This narwhal was quite starved as it had lost its family when it encountered a group of beluga whales. Although belugas and narwhals are distant relatives, sharing very similar social behaviors, they naturally don’t speak the same language. When this narwhal met the belugas, they immediately understood the situation and welcomed it into their midst, making it part of the beluga family. Like an adopted child.

Dolphins have more than 60,000 words to articulate themselves, which is more than any human language! Each dolphin is given a name by its mother as soon as it is born, a name that is repeated over several hours immediately after birth to deeply imprint it on the newborn. On multiple occasions, two dolphins have been observed conversing about a third, absent individual – as if gossiping or wondering where it is.

Both orcas and sperm whales live in highly matriarchal structures. This means that the whale grandma is the head of the family, carrying ancient knowledge passed down from generation to generation. They even act as midwives, being the first to attend to a newborn while the mother takes a moment to recover.

I believe it’s time to see, hear and spread those stories, so that more and more people start to love and respect nature and biodiversity, step back and let nature reclaim its space. There is a quote “we only protect what we love”, I think its from Baba Dioum. This is exactly what conservation means to me – both for nature and species.

There are incredible scientists and filmmakers making significant contributions, effecting real change for animals.

For example the organization Only One, founded by Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen
They created a beautiful film about orcas in Norway that touched so many people and prompted them to sign a petition, leading to a ban on oil drilling in the Lofoten Islands.

Most of us live in a rational, fast-paced world where nature and wilderness seems far away. We need people like these scientists and filmmakers to help us see nature again. To bring about change, we must begin to see it. With my art I want to make nature visible in our everyday’s life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Christina Cabrales and live in Munich, in the South of Germany. I am the founder of and the artist behind the stationery brand tucán y limón – paper goods for nature lovers.

I create illustrated paper products with minimalist watercolor illustrations that joyfully and simply celebrate the diversity and beauty of nature. I have always felt very connected to nature and have a rather playful way to see the world. The feedback I often get is that people see exactly this lightness and affection for nature in my work.

The brand name tucán y limón represents fauna and flora and reflects my love for the Colombian tropics. Due to my Colombian roots, I have felt drawn to the tropics for as long as I can remember. The toucan and the lemon symbolize for me precisely this yearning for tropical inspiration.

My product range continues to grow and includes postcards, perpetual calendars, sticky notes, stickers, and notepads. I am passionate about my work and appreciate the freedom of having created my own artistic playground where I can experiment with new ideas and bring my visions to life. You can find my products on my website and in various charming bookshops, concept stores, museums, and flower shops across more than 10 countries.

Through the sales of these products, I contribute a portion of the proceeds to environmental and conservation organizations such as Whale and Dolphin Conservation Organization.

In addition to my stationery business, I have been working on various illustration projects, including creating wedding stationery for private clients and collaborating with significant organizations such as WWF.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I initiated my business, I was still very established in the architecture world. I began by gradually reducing my hours and secretly opened an Etsy shop featuring my first two products. I didn’t even disclose it to anyone. Etsy proved to be a wonderful platform for me and is a good way to start your art business, as it attracts the right customers, its easy to set up, and allowes you to experiment with different types of products.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I received the first order on the very first day. Initially, I printed my postcards at home with a special photo printer. From the beginning, it was crucial for me to make conscious decisions and not waste resources. Each postcard underwent a trial phase and I kept in only in the shop if I was certain that people would love it as much as I did. I found a good printery that is part of a social enterprise and discovered beautiful, high-quality recycled paper produced near my where I live.

I started personally visiting shops I admired, to present my products and also received inquiries from various stores via Instagram. Being able to place my products in beautiful bookstores and concept stores in different cities across Germany and Austria was already a significant milestone for me. The turning point came when I began exhibiting at trade shows. Despite the financial risk associated with high participation fees and the need to construct an entire booth, I was fortunate to meet wonderful store owners at the shows who recognized and appreciated the unique vibe, quality and purpose of my products.

After two years of side hustle, I took the leap, leaving my job as an architect. I am incredibly grateful to now work full-time on my art business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As many of us I learned to give always 200%, to make an effort, to always try to do better. And although starting my business was a story of breaking free from others’ expectations and standards, after a few years, I found myself back in the rat race, having built up exactly the same routines of relentless work, endless to-do lists and never allowing myself to take a break. Recognizing this, I decided to take a radical step and spent four weeks of vacation, visiting my dad in Colombia. This meant skipping an entire trade show season and taking the risk of potentially losing customers. It turned out to be the best decision I could have made. I rediscovered the importance of setting my own rules, taking breaks, and staying connected to the mission and purpose of my art business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tucanylimon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tucan.y.limon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tucan.y.limon/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tucanylimon

Image Credits
Eva-Marlene Etzel – forenoon studios, www.forenoon.de