We recently connected with Joanna Catiller and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Joanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I came up with the idea right before COVID hit I was playing around with the Cricut machine that I had lying around. I originally bought the machine for one of my good friends’ weddings, as I was doing candy bars for fun for family and close friends’ parties and then I stashed it away not knowing what else I wanted to do with it. I began seeing some fun items being made on social media and thought to myself hey I have one of those machines let’s try it out. So I began experimenting with vinyl and tested it out on my family’s water bottles, and personal cups I had lying around the house. I was so confused about why the vinyl kept lifting and why isn’t it staying on the cups. So I then tried to apply a sealant on top of the cups and that helped but I didn’t like the smell and kept doing research, realizing some of the other ones I saw did not have any sort of sealant on them. Come to find out there are two types of Vinyl out there, permanent vinyl and regular. So I continued doing lots and lots of research finding different brands, which worked better for layering, and what I wanted to create. Once I found the supplier I liked that provided the colors and quality I was happy with, I went to work on practicing designs. I knew I wanted to incorporate my love for Disney and the Islands into one. I also wanted to represent my culture being half-American and half-Filipino. I started with designing regular plastic cups by adding some of my favorite characters with a tropical flair to them. I showed a few of my friends and family members and they all told me you should sell that I would buy that cup from you. I was reluctant at first as I didn’t want to look like an imposter and was afraid people wouldn’t like them, but after making quite a few for myself and family members I took the leap and decided I wanted to do this as a business. With the help of my boyfriend and friends, I came up with Aloha Pixie Magic. My motto is to spread aloha with a sprinkle of pixie magic to everyone I come in contact with. 2 months later I launched the business on Instagram and took orders. I visited a few pop-ups and visited friends I met through the small business world and they encouraged me to try an event. A month later I was vending at my first pop-up event and selling in person. Doing this event helped me realize that sharing my creations with people helped people bring a piece of Aloha spirit or Magic with them wherever they go. My hobby of messing around with my Cricut machine turned into the best thing I could have done, from just starting with layering vinyl pieces ,endless nights to almost 4 years later I have grown to now creating sublimation designs.

Joanna , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Joanna, also known as “Jo” or “JoJo” depending on who you talk to. I have always loved being crafty, I have loved the arts and crafts since I was little. Always use my creativity in everyday life in some sort of way. I leaped and purchased my first Cricut machine and I bought it to help with a friend’s wedding to create stuff for a candy bar. I dabbled in wedding planning and party event planning for family and close friends. Then I tucked that machine away for a couple of years when I lost the momentum, but in 2019 I took that machine back out to get back into crafting again to help keep me busy and to relieve some stress and everyday things that were happening in my life. It was therapy for me and I wanted to open up that creativity inside me that I lost. My hobby turned into a business and I will say I still enjoy crafting to this day, yes it can be stressful at times preparing for an event but ultimately I still enjoy it. The current items I provide in my shop are sublimated glass cups, mugs, water bottles, tote bags, and key wristlets. I also offer key chains that I make with upcycled figures and hand-sewn reusable straw pouches. I also added to the shop some Decoden items such as phone stands and phone cases customizable. I love creating a custom piece for people that they can enjoy for years to come.
I love meeting people and having conversations with them, especially during in-person events. For me I want everyone to be able to enjoy my products, I want people to feel that they are getting a quality handmade item that was made with love. I try to keep my prices as low as possible with different price points so that everyone who comes across my page or table has an opportunity to purchase an item they may want. As I said my motto is to ultimately spread Aloha with a sprinkle of pixie magic to everyone I cross paths with no matter if that person makes a purchase or not.
I am proud of how far my little business has come I started with one small table at my very first pop-up event, to expanding, experimenting, and growing into participating at anime conventions and traveling to Southern California to vend. I am proud that in just 4 years of starting this business, I have learned a lot, grown to new creations, and continued to grow and can let my creativity shine and not lock it away again. I will continue to learn to help make my business better by providing items that everyone will enjoy for as long as I can. If you see me please don’t ever hesitate to strike up a conversation with me, I love meeting new people and making connections. Without my clients, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my business the support and love from my followers, friends, and family members are all why I can keep Aloha Pixie Magic going.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a job in itself, I will say it was not easy building the following base that I have. My following base is still low according to some people, but for me, I think that it is not a bad thing so that you can keep a close connection to your customers. When I first started my Instagram account I struggled and was very discouraged when my following was not growing. So I began to do some searching and made connections with like accounts that had similar tastes. I tried out those follow-for-follow trends which built up my social media base, so by doing those they would share your account on their page which provided more eyes for more people to see my products which assisted in my following account. When I shipped out orders I put my card and encouraged sharing their purchases to help promote my page. I tried using brand reps to help my engagement and gain followers. Posting consistently, engaging with your followers, and being personable helps also. You want to make sure people feel like you are acknowledging them and that they aren’t just another “follower” of that business. I am finding that I am gaining more followers from in-person events I have my QR code accessible for people to scan right on my table, it’s on my card and I encourage it during a conversation. Different methods work for different shops and people, some things will work better for others but not work for you, don’t let it discourage you. If one method is not working, try a different one keep going it may be a slow process but you will get there. Social media is hard and can make you feel all sorts of emotions, but ultimately keep going and find what works best for you that comes naturally because making those personal connections will lead you to the right people you want to have following you and will help your business grow.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Some people may not know that I actually work a 9-5 job during the weekday and then work on my business on the side. I focused on my business during COVID times as many of us had either had to adjust in our daily jobs. I was grateful to still be able to work during the pandemic, but my hours were reduced, so I had to figure out a way to help supplement that extra income. During that time I was making plastic tumblers and adding permanent vinyl on them consistently trying to come up with new designs to make sure I had a variety for people to enjoy. I started taking custom orders to give people the capability of picking out their designs. After vending several events over the next couple of years I noticed a slowdown in people wanting the plastic cups with “stickers” on them as they would call it. They felt the vinyl would come off and I would overhear people saying I have too many cups. So I had to rethink what I was creating and try to incorporate something new into my shop other than just cups. So I decided to venture out and I added new things like tote bags and started 3D printing straw toppers. I wanted to have more variety at my table so that people wouldn’t just see me with cups and that they already had enough cups. So I wanted to provide more, I taught myself how to sew and created reusable straw pouches and mini coin pouches. I still found that vinyl was beginning to fade out and I had to change things up more. This pushed me to invest in sublimation, which changed the way I designed cups that I offered to be able to provide more variety and versatility. This changed all my products on my table and did away with permanent vinyl on all my tote bags, tumblers, and allowed me to print on items to provide a better quality item. I knew that if I wanted to continue in my business I had to change with the times in just two years starting and that was a bit scary as I was just getting the hang of all the vinyl work and being comfortable with it. Learning a new machine and what works was not the easiest of tasks it was as if I was starting my business over again, but with continued practice trial, and error things worked out and I am so glad that I made the change from working with vinyl and changing to sublimation.

Contact Info:

• Website: alohapixiemagic.net
• Instagram: aloha_pxiemagic
• Facebook: Aloha Pixie Magic