We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sherry “Cherie” Feng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sherry “Cherie” below.
Sherry “Cherie”, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hi! I’m Sherry, or “Cherie” as I like to be referred to online, and I’m an illustrator behind the studio ‘miaocherii’. I am based in the DMV (DC and surrounding area), and I adore cats, soft pastel color palettes, and all things cute, kawaii, and colorful! I like to include these themes into my artworks, and I hope that people who see them can feel warmth and positivity to brighten their day! I enjoy both 2D and 3D work; I create digital art and traditional art pieces inspired by sweet moments and fond memories of my everyday life, and things that I see will oftentimes inspire me to create art and designs that I can turn into everyday items. I love being able to bring cuteness into others’ lives through my designs!
My 2D work is transformed into a variety of goods – including prints, keychains, enamel pins, apparel such as shirts, patches, hats and totes, home goods such as pillows and deskmats, stickers, and other forms of stationery. For my 3D work, I primarily like to showcase the breadth of what sculpey clay can do! I make pins, magnets, keychains, jewelry, keycaps, ornaments, and other trinkets and knick-knacks. I adore the uniqueness of handmade items, and how much love and intricacy I can put into an item that ends up in another person’s home or hands! Creating a mix of 2D and 3D work allows me to showcase my love for all sorts of arts and crafts, and I hope to bring a smile to others’ faces with my use of color and ability to create cuteness.
My work is showcased in my online shop, but oftentimes I’ll focus on in-person events such anime, craft, or cat-related conventions around the US (notably Anime Expo, CatCon, Otakon, and Anime NYC!), as I love being able to engage with the community and those who also have an appreciation for cute things and styles like mine! I really enjoy being able to have personable, engaging, and happy conversations supporting fellow small artists and businesses. I thrive in the bright and bubbly energy of those around me who take pride in similar creative work, and it is lovely meeting new friends and showing sincere thanks to all those who choose to purchase my work to be part of their life. It means so much to me to be able to share my art, and to make others happy!
Outside of selling my own illustrative and design work, I have worked with various clients and retailers to design and illustrate pieces which have been made into products such as stationery, accessories, and apparel. I am always happy and open to more prospects, so please feel free to check out my website at www.miaocherii.com if you’re interested in my vibe, style and illustrations and might want to work together!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you. What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As overused as it may sound, to me the most rewarding aspect about being an artist is the act of “arting”; of creating something real and tangible! There is nothing more satisfying than taking a nebulous idea of something that sparks, often in passing, in my brain, and making that a final “thing”, whether it may be a full illustration, a cute little clay trinket, a tote bag design, or anything in between! It is the most fulfilling to be able to create something that did not exist prior to me making it, and then an additional plus for that creation to also be something I can share with other people!
As I’ve mentioned, I draw a lot of inspiration from moments in my little life, and a large part of those small moments is my dearest cat, Kimi. She provides me with huge doses of serotonin, and seeing her little animated self and the antics she gets into really shapes the subject matter of my work, not to mention how comfortable I am with drawing cats in particular! Her silly poses and goofy little face were the inspiration behind one of my most well-known pieces, a collage of pastel cat doodles in various positions. The illustration came about when I was simply relaxing and watching Kimi sleep, and I decided to draw her pose and take it from there. The process of drawing it was extremely therapeutic to me! I think the cuteness and general comfy feeling of the piece are the main reasons why it was so loved online. I’ve since turned it into a popular tote bag design so that it can be both cute AND useful, and it is indeed one of my proudest creations to date.
It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
As an illustrator, creative, and artist, there is understandable fear knowing that there is a difference and potentially a large gap between things that people like to see, whether online or in-person, in any capacity, and things that people will actually *buy*. There is a constant understanding that as an artist, I am fully allowed to be creative and make things I enjoy and like, however, those things may not be what other people are willing to purchase. At the time I made the decision to take this risk, I had been creating work and consistently posting it online for several years, to what I would consider to be decent reception and positive energy, however, I only had a very small online shop presence and footprint. Despite that, I decided to submit an application to sell at an event in-person for the very first time back in 2021 (freshly and barely out of pandemic lockdown) – to be a vendor / artist at one of the largest anime conventions on the East Coast – Otakon, which has around 35K – 40K attendees each year! My application was accepted, much to my greatest surprise, and I was both extremely excited and also quite anxious at the potential of eyes viewing my work. In the months leading up to the event, I was preparing various goodies and products while doing my best to minimize costs and other risks, but of course the costs of the table, attendance badges, miscellaneous logistics, transportation, and material costs of said products were still adding up to be quite significant, not to mention all the time I was investing in illustrating and making and other administrative tasks! I felt so uncertain with how the event was going to go for me, but I was certain that there were people out there who loved my work, as I experienced online, and there was nothing else I could do other than hype myself up and push forward with the preparation!
There are so many details and thoughts I have about the actual event itself – too many to reasonably share – but I will say it certainly had both a lot of challenges (time-management, organization, and general preparation just to name a few), which I was both prepared and surprised about, and so many amazingly fulfilling memories! I am eternally grateful I took the leap to attend. From a monetary perspective, my cost mitigation measures which included hand-painting and making a banner and creating lots of handmade clay goodies with minimal material costs, really paid off! My booth had a very unique, cute and handmade feel to it which made it both inviting and aesthetic, and the handmade clay creations constantly attracted eyes, which often led to purchases of some kind. I would say from a financial perspective I did quite well, as it exceeded my expectations and certainly bolstered my confidence as an artist with a place here. Since I was a new artist attending the event, I think there was also some novelty for most people who had never seen my work before! It was so rewarding and heart-warming to hear the positive words and often loudly-elicited squeals of happiness and “cuteee!”, and seeing people choose to purchase my work and hold it in their hands was an indescribable feeling for me! I had so many sweet conversations with all sorts of people – of course many with women similar in age to me, but also many small children & their parents, elderly individuals, and honestly some of the most precious encounters were some conversations with several males (who I would not normally consider to be the demographic my work generally appeals to) who came by just to say that my style was super pleasing and adorable. I’ll never forget all the positive words and joy that others have given me because of my work, and I’m so glad I went to Otakon that year. I’ve since vended at numerous other conventions, even travelling across the country to California twice within the span of a month or so for two different events in 2023! Every event I’ve done has been so worthwhile to me, and I am so grateful I took that first uncertain step; now I’m taking so many opportunities to bring my work to all sorts of people!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
As someone who studied Finance at an accredited and well-known public university, was most comfortable with statistics and numbers, and was working a standard and stable 9-5 office job as an Analyst, I never really expected to be where I am today regarding the creative arts period, let alone pursuing it as a career path! While my office job was fairly normal for the industry I was in, unfortunately I found myself in a position where mentally, I was unfulfilled and disappointed in how my life was shaping to be; working felt tedious day in and day out. During that time, there were other hardships going on for me, but most of it stemmed from that dissatisfaction and unhappiness. I decided to revisit drawing and other creative pursuits as just a hobby, which I had largely dropped in college with the mindset that they were not a valuable, “productive”, or “lucrative” use of my time. I chose to do so because I remembered how much pure joy and satisfaction the act of drawing had given me when I was younger, and it felt like now was a crucial time to perhaps attempt to rekindle that love for the sake of myself.
So I took a break from work, went back to art, and what started off as drawing very random things such as characters in games I liked and doodles of my favorite foods and things, quickly turned into a very successful means of therapy for me. It brought me joy and an inexplicable amount of fulfillment to be able to create and do things for myself that I liked, and even more validating to post that work online and find that it made others happy too? At the time, that feeling was undeniably elating and honestly shocking. Shortly after, I ended up finding another finance job that fit me a bit better, but art really changed me during that time. I am forever grateful for those circumstances which made me reevaluate my life and reconsider art – to come to the realization that art was my form of self-preservation and could be something I was allowed to be ambitious about. In the years since, I cannot say how much value, confidence, and amazing changes these art-related experiences have brought into my life, just by sharing and selling my work online and in-person. I have so many other art career dreams and goals I have yet to accomplish, and I hope you’ll be around to support me as I achieve them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.miaocherii.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miaocherii/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/miaocherii
- Other: shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/miaocherii general links: https://linktr.ee/miaocherii giphy: https://giphy.com/miaocherii