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When Today Feels Heavy
You know…Depression doesn’t always look like crying in the shower or falling apart in public.Sometimes it’s just… silence.It’s the numb scroll through your phone.It’s brushing your teeth feeling like a full-on mission.It’s seeing messages pop up and not having the energy to respond,even though you love the people sending them. It’s laughing when you’re supposed…
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Pantone Color of The Year – Mocha Mousse
Pantone finally release the color of the year — Mocha Mousse 🍫 🫶🏽 This one is very velvety, smooth, and evocative soft brown with a sense of pleasure and deliciousness! Pantone Mocha Brown has a warm, rich hue that is of quality, and those who love chocolate and even for the brown girls. Learn more…
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My life with depression and anxiety with knowing what “it” was
Honestly, I’ve seen and heard the phrase “new year’s resolutions” enough to make my head hurt? I like to be more realistic every year. My concerns or worries don’t just disappear because it’s the new year. I’m scrolling g through posts. I’m scrolling through Google. Looking for something that says that what I’m feeling or…
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My Step by Step Branding Design + Web Design Process
What started back in 2012 as the title of my senior capstone in college. Ai-Konic Graphics was a title to make a name for myself that turned to an actual business to help ambitious solo & entrepreneurs expand and stand out from everyone else in corporate society. That mission has grown to help your entire…
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“Apologies! Just Seeing This Message Now…”
I say “sorry” like I drink water or breathe air. I apologize for speaking up. Trust me, I am always been told to stop, even as a child — and even now, I’m unable to stop especially when I genuinely am. Forgive me, but it’s not the same as taking someone else’s apology because it’s…
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Black Women Aren’t Angry—They Just Have Something Important To Say
For far too long, Black women have been characterized as angry, loud and aggressive—especially in the workplace. The stereotype has plagued generations before me and, unfortunately, even my own. Even during a collective move to inclusivity within the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ groups, somehow the “angry Black woman” clichĂ© lives on. However, it’s a tale as…
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2022 Holiday Sale + Cyber Monday Deals
Some of my favorite tools and platforms are also running “Black Friday” sales. A few notes about these deals: Here are “Black Friday” deals on five of my favorite tools… I’m currently offering extended payment plans for all my design & brand services. I want to give to my audience a little something back for…
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The Countdown Sale! Black Art 🖼️
My biggest sale is in going on. Custom art work created & printed by me is available for purchase on my website. Currently you can use code “countdown20” for 20% of your order. Each art print is hand drawn in archival ink on Bristol fine art paper, scaled and cut to the appropriate size, and…
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What I really think about as a creative business owner / content creator
Here’s what I image. I signed a big client; my dream client. Ka-Ching ! I’m thinking, “it finally happened”. The next day, I begin to feel doubt. That imposter syndrome kicks in and I thinking thoughts like… “I’ll never meet their expectations” “What if they hate my work” Let me stop myself right there. I…
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Artwork + An Art Show
A Woman’s Growth Black women in America face several hurdles to success Black progress over the past half-century has been impressive, conventional wisdom to the contrary notwithstanding. One thing that still stands is a woman’s growth — our body’s, our personalities, and our NATURAL HAIR. Whether we want to wear our hair in an Afro,…
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My Full Story; Unapologetically
It’s not about want pity or being brave. It’s about being real. For a while I aimed to somehow end the stigmatized thoughts on mental illness. The subject on Mental illness and those who deal with it are part of of a group that is shunned, judged and misunderstood by most. Suicide and chronic pain…
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The Courage of Being A Woman
We often feel the need to be perfect. We are thought to obey, sit down and apologize. We are taught to doubt ourselves. We aren’t taught to to speak for ourselves and be confident in our voice. as a result, we don’t really live the life we want to live. In reality, we fail at…
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Anxiety Habits
Little do a lot of people know, that I have many anxiety habits. Sometimes it mixes with depression. It can be debilitating at times. These things just happen often. 1. I touch my face and hair a lot searching for imperfections. 2. I am very apologetic even if I didn’t do anything wrong. I can’t…
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YF Con, Black Friday/Cyber Monday Edition
I pulled into the Anaheim Convention Center around 7:30 this morning and headed to Hall A, Level 1. Check-in was pretty quick and there was no long line. Even though doors didn’t open until 8:30, I was already in by 8:45. There wasn’t an attendance total posted, but you didn’t need one to see this…
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Opening Week at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
I went to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, on what was essentially a full opening day. Tickets were around $25, and I booked them a month ahead. The museum was better organized than I expected. The entrance was clear, bag check was easy, and the lines were short. The…
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Long Beach Comic Con: The Chill Day I Didn’t Plan For
Long Beach Comic Con happened September 5th and 6th this year at the Long Beach Convention Center. I only attended on Saturday and going in, I didn’t have much of a plan. No panel schedule, no must-hit list. I just wanted to walk around and see what happened. And honestly? That ended up being the…
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Apple Just Changed the iPhone for the First Time in Almost 20 Years
Apple held its “Surprise and Shine” event on September 9th at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, and it was the first keynote under new CEO John Ternus, who officially took over from Tim Cook on September 1st after 15 years at the helm. Ternus spent over a decade running Apple’s hardware engineering before stepping…
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Inside Olive Young Festa LA: What One Saturday Actually Looked Like
Olive Young Festa LA took over the Los Angeles Convention Center from August 14th to August 16, 2026 for its first U.S. edition, running alongside KCON LA. I only went on Saturday, August 15th. By the time the weekend wrapped, more than 100,000 people had come through and Saturday was the day everyone decided to…