How Yumismade Started

Hi there! 

Welcome to my small corner of the web! I’m Heidi, the owner and illustrator of Yumismade. I wanted to use this space to share more about my small business journey, creative process, and inspiration behind Yumismade illustrations and products! Expect musings about being a self-taught illustrator, navigating business, some of my favorite tools and resources, and more :)

My Background

I’m a software engineer by profession, but I’ve always enjoyed the arts growing up. For as long as I can remember, I loved crafts, drawing, designing graphics, and being creative. I have fond memories of entering contests with graphics I designed, sketching outfits I wanted to wear, and hand-making letters for loved ones. Although I did not study or pursue a career in the arts, there were seasons where I still dabbled in creative hobbies when I had the time, and there were many moments where I wondered what life would be like if I had pursued art.

Before the Business

In 2020, I was living alone during the peak of the pandemic. I felt an urge to do something more fulfilling during those months of isolation, so I bought an iPad! I started drawing again (this time digitally) and was hooked. That year, I spent a lot of time drawing and discovering my illustration style. I started uploading some of my work to Instagram using the name “Yumismade”, to signify that the creations were “made by Yumi”. The name is derived from my Korean name “Yumi”, a name only my family and closest friends really use. It’s a name that is filled with affection and feelings of affinity, very much like how I feel about my creations.

I actually never intended on starting a business. Although many of my friends and family encouraged me to sell my work over the years, there were a lot of reasons I felt I shouldn’t. Fellow artists can probably relate, but I felt a lot of imposter syndrome. I thought, "Who would buy my art?" It was daunting, and even after watching so many artist-entrepreneurs share their stories online, the thought of putting my work out there felt very intimidating. For years, I continued to convince myself that I'd be okay if illustrating remained a hobby.

A few years passed and I grew more busy with my job. I had little to no time to rest, let alone indulge in hobbies. And over time, I grew more concerned for my physical and mental health.

Starting a Business

In early 2024, I mustered up the courage to change teams at work and welcomed a little more margin and normalcy into my life. 

It was during that season of transition that my older sister asked if I would be willing to illustrate a character for my niece’s first birthday. The theme was “Spring Bunny” :) I was obviously very excited to; anything for my cutie niece! It was so special, illustrating a cute character inspired by my niece. I found myself making stickers and sticker sheets for the kids attending the party. I was thoroughly enjoying myself, working on this little project, and it was this simple but strong conviction that eventually led me to take the first steps towards starting a business. Illustrating from my inspirations is something that brings me a lot of joy. And there's a special fulfillment when I get to make something that brings joy and enjoyment to others. 

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to wholeheartedly pursue a creative path. The imposter syndrome and worries were still there, but the conviction was enough for me to decide that 2024 would be the year I finally explore that.

What’s to come

If you made it this far, thank you for reading a bit of my story of how I got here :) I feel incredibly blessed and grateful to have this website and this space for Yumismade. It was not an overnight decision to turn Yumismade into a business. And of course, starting the business had its challenging and discouraging moments. In posts to come, I’ll share more about how I was banned from Etsy (and landed my first wholesale account in the same week), how I started by handmaking all products in-house, and how the hard decision to outsource brought me freedom and margin to grow my business faster!