We recently connected with Seiko Sisco and have shared our conversation below.

Seiko, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I made for myself was one year ago when I finally said yes to my dreams of becoming a surface pattern designer and decided to take a course called Immersion by industry leader Bonnie Christine. Ever since I launched my handmade baby shop, Waku Waku Baby, my secret goal has been to design my own fabric patterns for my baby products. I had always loved to draw but years went by without giving myself the space to pursue this creative passion of mine. I was also a stay-at-home mom to two little ones (who were 2 and 4 years old at the time) and I had a difficult time rationalizing adding another creative pursuit to my already busy schedule. But I am so glad that I decided to put myself first and honor my creative aspirations. This course not only taught me the techniques and roadmap to become a surface pattern designer, but also opened up my mind to inspiration that surrounds us in our everyday lives and made our household a much more creative and happy place. I learned that taking big risks can be scary but can lead to beautiful outcomes that you never could even expect. Investing in yourself and your dreams can have a positive impact, not just to you, but to your family as well.

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

Hello everyone! My name is Seiko Sisco and I am a homeschool mom (to a 3 and 5 year old) by day and a handmade small business owner and maker by night and weekends. I have recently added another role to my list – surface pattern designer. My road to becoming a creative entrepreneur has been a long and winding one. My educational background is in Chemistry and I worked as a corporate PhD Chemist for a few years before I became a mom and decided I wanted to stay home with my baby. I had always been artistic and creative but never gave myself the time to explore these pursuits. When my son was around 8 months old I picked up a new hobby – sewing. My little one needed lots of bibs since he was quite a drooly baby so I decided to learn how to sew and make baby bibs. I fell in love with beautiful fabrics and sewing quickly became an important creative outlet for me. Soon I realized that I can perhaps turn my hobby into a small business. In 2019 I decided to launch Waku Waku Baby, my handmade baby shop. Waku Waku means to be happy and excited in Japanese and I wanted my shop name to reflect my Japanese roots and the feeling I wanted my customers to feel when they received my baby products. Currently the best sellers include my Stay-On Baby Shoes that actually stay on those wiggly baby feet. We struggled to find baby shoes that would fit around my baby’s chunky but round feet that actually stayed on and I am happy to know that so many of my customers love this feature about our shoes. In 2022, I finally learned how to design my own fabric patterns and released my first-ever original collections featuring my hand-drawn fabric patterns. I was able to showcase my original collection at local holiday markets and receive immediate positive feedback which was so encouraging, and I would say, the highlight of my career so far.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is that you get to express yourself – your inspiration – how you see the world – through your work. When you get to share your work with others and it resonates with them or they feel inspired or feel joy from your work, that’s when a connection is made and I find that so powerful. The work I create bring me so much joy and I feel so fortunate that others feel the same way about my work. Being an artist and creative has helped me discover who I am at my core and find my voice and belonging in this world.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One of the things I wish I knew when I started my handmade business and started this creative entrepreneurial path was the importance of investing in yourself earlier on. At first I tried to piecemeal together so many things and figure it out all by myself, but I realized that was necessarily the smart thing to do. I decided to take a course called Multi-Stream-Machine by The Product Boss in 2021 (more information on my website under Resources in the footer) and courses like this one that is comprehensive and gives you a clear roadmap to figure out your own path to success has been invaluable. I touched on Immersion, the beloved surface pattern design course earlier (also more details on my website), but I learned my lesson the first time around when starting my handmade business that I knew if I wanted to learn a new skill and pursue a new creative endeavor like surface pattern design I needed the support and comprehensive program that would accelerate my learning without figuring everything out on my own.

Contact Info:

• Website: wakuwakubaby.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wakuwakubaby/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wakuwakubaby/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seikosisco/
• Other: Surface pattern design Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seikosisco/ Courses that have helped me: https://www.wakuwakubaby.com/theproductboss https://www.wakuwakubaby.com/surface-pattern-design-immersion

Image Credits
Seiko Sisco