We were lucky to catch up with Elle Ibarra recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Elle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

When I was in middle school, I watched 13 going on 30 for the first time and I remember instantly falling in love with Jenna Rink’s job as an Editor for Poise. From that moment on, I became obsessed with the idea of working for a fashion magazine and moving to New York one day. Years later, I ended up applying to universities to study computer science or nursing because art just didn’t feel like a reasonable route. But by the time I was a senior at UC Davis, I was reminded of my passion for art and realized that I needed to pursue it. I ended up applying to hundreds of magazine internships in New York. I would literally go to bookstores everyday, find out who the Art Director is, and pitch myself over e-mail (I was determined to live out my 13 going on 30 dreams). Out of probably 500 e-mails, I got a response from two magazines.

One of the magazines wanted to interview me in person so I decided to get a one way ticket from California to New York after I graduated. I waited at a nearby coffee shop after my interview and I remember feeling so nervous that I couldn’t lift up my coffee cup without spilling it. Moments later, I got the call that I officially landed an Art Internship at Family Circle Magazine. I honestly couldn’t believe it and I felt so excited to finally be following my dreams. Taking an artistic risk like this was scary, especially being so far away from home and living out of state on my own for the first time, but it was 100% worth it. This experience ended up teaching me so much about myself and graphic design and was truly the start of my creative journey.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Elle and I’m a Filipino-American Artist and Content Creator. I was born in a tiny city in the Philippines called Tacloban and have lived in the Bay Area for a majority of my life. As a kid, I was pretty shy and isolated. So much so, that I spent a lot of my free-time alone in my room in front of a computer screen. When I was 11, I would spent hours teaching myself Photoshop just to make my Myspace and Xanga pages look extra cute. I ended up having so much fun experimenting with design in the process and this is probably when I first fell in love with art. At the same time, I was fascinated by things like Powerpuff Girls, Studio Ghibli, Sailormoon, Neopets, and Sanrio. Something about these whimsical characters and fantasy worlds really made me feel less alone and influenced me so much creatively. Now, I create colorful and nostalgic products inspired by my childhood growing up in the 90s/y2k era– from vinyl stickers, enamel pins, accessories, to apparel. I also film lifestyle content on social media about all my cozy hobbies, home decor, and daily art process!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As an introverted Artist who creates content in my living room everyday, I’m kind of in my own bubble, which can be a bit isolating sometimes. But then I go online and I realize how grateful I am for the amazing community I’ve built. When I receive messages from people within the Asian-American community that are able to connect with my art and the content I create on a personal level, it truly is the best feeling. Growing up, I rarely saw anyone in mainstream media that looked like me so I honestly never really knew that I could be an Artist. I wish I could go back, give 11 year old me a hug, and let her know that anything is possible. This is why representation is incredibly important and if I can inspire at least one person to follow their own creative dreams, then I feel fulfilled.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My creative journey as an Artist definitely wasn’t linear– I actually juggled different jobs over the course of 10 years until being able to pursue my own art full-time. I worked in mobile gaming, publishing, and was also a barista at one point. During this time, I also struggled with my anxiety and depression but one thing that kept me going, is art (I basically spent all my work breaks and weekends illustrating).

Then Covid hit in 2020 and that’s when I took a moment to really reflect on my life. I knew that deep down, I ultimately wanted to create something for myself that I was genuinely proud of… so that’s when I started to take my own art and content more seriously. I started consistently filming videos about my art process on social media, opened a monthly sticker club on Patreon, and overtime, I got the opportunity to collaborate with major brands like Adobe, Disney, LEGO, and Nintendo. Eventually, I reached a point where I was finally able to fully sustain myself as both an Artist and Content Creator and I’ve been lucky enough to be doing this full-time for the past two years!

This all being said, it definitely didn’t happen overnight. Realistically, I had a ton of student loans to pay off before I could quit my 9 to 5, I carried a lot of self doubt as someone who is self taught and didn’t attend art school, and overall, I felt kind of behind in life. But I think it’s so important to remember that everyone’s creative journey looks different and that’s completely okay! Just keep creating what you love and putting yourself out there– eventually, you’ll get to where you need to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sheselle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheselle
• Linkedin: https://www.tiktok.com/@shes.elle
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sheselle