Many UMass Amherst students carry an iPad in their backpacks, holding numerous assignments, projects, or TV shows to watch between classes. For junior Mira Le, her iPad holds a never-ending sketchbook, yielding drawings to be later pinned to a backpack or hung on the wall of a student’s dorm room.
The start of Starriette
Le launched her small art business, Starriette, at the beginning of the fall semester. Her inventory includes stickers, pins, prints and live sketch services at events. Her art can be found at the UMass Farmerâs Market every Friday in the fall and spring, in Peopleâs Market at the Student Union and at campus pop up events such as the Sweethearts Market hosted by the UMass Students for Sustainable Fashion & Art. Leâs background as an art education major has a strong influence on her art. Drawing inspiration from children’s books such as The Hungry Caterpillar, Le cites the importance of having an art style which evokes comfort in her customers.Â
âI think it’s really important to have a strong identity within my art,â Le said. âI feel like I have more of a recognizable style. People like being drawn back to childhood so if I make simpler and childlike things, it becomes my specialty and it’s easier to like.â In tandem with her education, Le channels her creative vision into an entrepreneurial mindset. Her inspiration for starting her business stems from seeing and purchasing from other small vendors.
âGrowing up, I’ve always looked up to some artists that, like, have their own stores and I viciously supported them,â Le said. “When making art to sell, I’m really trying to put my eyes in the perspective of the buyer and ask myself: ‘Do I want this? Do I want to see this in my room? Do I want to look in my bag and see this pin?” As her business grew, making art shifted from being a personal hobby to a process of production.Â
âI’m trying to find the balance of staying true to myself and making what other people like,â Le said. âI feel like I know my audience and I’ve been able to stay true to what I want to do, but sometimes I’m like, âI kind of wish I could just draw whatever is on my mind and sell it,âÂ
A love for locality
Planting Starriette in the UMass Amherst sphere, Le incorporates local elements to relate to her student customers. With stickers donning messages âUMass squirrel enjoyerâ and âI love Frank DCâ along with stickers of children’s book character Miffy wearing a UMass shirt, she encompasses the campus energy in order to create something which cannot be replicated elsewhere.
âI think people really like having those personalized things,â Le said. âThe UMass stuff that I have is to draw people in and my own original art is there too. I’ve had people come and be like, âOh my god, you’re the UMass goose girl.â Starriette’s brand identity shines on its local, relatable feel, and Le intends to keep spotlighting it. She finds value in the familiarity her brand brings and notices the loyalty from students it garners.
“My favorite memories of selling are when repeat customers come up and ask, “What do we have today?’ and they end up buying more,” Le said. “Selling at school is so welcoming and nice because I will have these repeat people, whereas other artists sell at conventions so they don’t get those recent customers as much. Because I’m localized to Amherst, I see familiar faces all the time.” As Le progresses through her undergraduate career and becomes a teacher, she plans to keep her business and pursue both passions.
“I kind of see the business as a stepping stone for my art career outside of teaching as most teachers have their own art career outside of it,” Le said. “Starriette has made me realize that the dream of having my business alongside teaching can be real.”
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